One Wonderful April
by WillyFourEyes
Summary: It started with a simple kiss...but for these two HiME, that was all it took to bring them closer together. For at least one glorious month, their partnership would take on a new form. LJ "30 kisses" story; AU Animeverse; Mai/Natsuki, shoujo-ai.
1. Close Your Eyes

_Author's Notes: This story was written as part of LiveJournal's "30 Kisses" challenge. Naturally, everything related to Mai-HiME and its spinoffs are the property of Bandai Entertainment and Sunrise, Inc. I'm just doing this for fun, folks._

_Some (but not all) chapters will contain elements of "shoujo-ai"/"yuri", and the overall rating will change based on the content/author's whim/phase of the moon. The two characters paired are Mai Tokiha and Natsuki Kuga. Alternate universe? Definitely. Blasphemy? Probably. Fun to write? Hell, I hope so._

* * *

**Day 1 - Close Your Eyes**  
Theme: #2 - News, Letter

Mai Tokiha sat at the table in the center of her dorm room, examining a letter that she had received in her locker earlier in the day. The letter read "For Mai's Eyes Only!" in big, bold, red lettering. There were no other markings on the envelope...not even a signature, meaning that it could have come from anyone in school. However, the simple fact that the letter addressed her by name gave her the feeling that it might have been from someone she knew.

"Come on, Mai! Open it already!" said an uncommonly perky Mikoto Minagi, her hands and head firmly perched on her roommate's shoulder.

"No," Mai said firmly. "I can't do it now...not with you hovering over me like that."

Mikoto lifted her head and sat back in her chair, biting a piece of meat from her chicken teriyaki skewer. "Sorry."

Mai was curious. Could the letter have come from her brother Takumi, to let her know that his rehabilitation process was going along well? Or was it the work of one Yuuichi Tate, finally plucking up the courage to ask her out on a date? Either way, the longer the letter stayed unopened, the greater the risk would be of Mai possibly missing out on something super-important. She opened the envelope with a fingernail and turned her back to Mikoto as she read the letter to herself.

_Mai...meet me in the girls' locker room after dinner...and come alone._

It certainly narrowed down her choices. No guy in their right mind would infiltrate the girls' locker room, for fear of getting chewed out by self-styled disciplinarian Haruka Suzushiro. Maybe she was the one who wanted to meet her in the locker room. _No, that doesn't make sense,_ Mai thought. _That's not her style. It sounds more like something Shizuru would do. But why?_ Her suspicion changed when she read the actual signature underneath.

_Natsuki Kuga?!_

Mai's other roommate hadn't returned to the dorm after classes had ended for the day, mentioning something about going to the gym for a swim. It didn't strike Mai as odd that she wasn't invited to tag along, for Natsuki had her own way of doing things. _What could she be planning? I hope it isn't something bad. The last thing I need is a headache before I go to sleep tonight._

"What does it say?" asked Mikoto. "Come on! Tell me what the letter says!"

"It looks like somebody wants to meet me in the girls' locker room," said Mai. The letter may have said "For Mai's Eyes Only", but there wasn't a rule against telling anybody else what was actually written on it. It was the only information she felt the need to divulge to Mikoto, so she folded the letter up and placed it in her pocket.

"Let me go with you! I wanted to go to the weight room today, anyway."

"Sorry, Mikoto, but I'll be fine on my own." She looked at the stack of papers on Mikoto's desk. "Don't you have some homework you need to finish up, anyway?"

Mikoto sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"I won't be gone long," said Mai, ruffling Mikoto's scruffy hair. "If you need any assistance, I'll be here."

Mai washed Mikoto's dish and picked up her bag, prepared to meet Natsuki at the specified location.

When Mai got to the locker room, it was mostly empty, save a few other female swimmers changing back into their clothes on their way out. Mai wasn't prepared to do any kind of swimming; her gym clothes were stored inside the bag, but her two-piece swimsuit was sitting comfortably in the hamper in her dorm, waiting to be washed. She made a mental note to actually wash the clothes once she returned. Until then, she decided to sit down and wait for Natsuki, no longer worried about what fate would befall her. If she needed to make a quick escape, there was another door on the opposite side of the room she could dash through. When she went to put her bag away, she felt something hit her in the left cheek, nearly knocking her head into the locker.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

Mai turned around and saw Natsuki with a wet towel in hand, poised to strike again.

"So, I see you got my letter," said Natsuki.

"Yeah, I did. Isn't there another way you could have gotten my attention that didn't involve hitting me with something?"

"It's not my fault you decided to let your guard down. You should be a bit more careful." Natsuki put her towel down and wrapped it around her black swimsuit. "Anyway, I have a surprise for you."

Mai rubbed her sore cheek, even though the pain from the towel hit faded just seconds ago. "It's not going to be another slap in the face, is it?" she said.

"I promise this one won't hurt a bit. Now, close your eyes and don't move a muscle."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yes!" Natsuki said angrily. "Just shut up and do it already. It won't be a surprise if you see what's going to happen."

"Oh, all right."

Mai closed her eyes, but found it impossible to sit still. She stood up and held out her hands, as if she was about to receive the results of a term paper from her teacher. Natsuki opened up her locker, but Mai couldn't see whether she was putting something inside or taking something else out. She wanted to peek, but doing so would spoil the surprise and possibly risk getting hit upside the head a second time, so she held her "gimme" pose a few moments longer. Suddenly, she felt her arms spread out, but not by her own power. She also felt a sensation of warmness on her cheeks, and a little bit of moisture on her lips. A familiar surge of comfort and joy pulsed through Mai's body, yet it was...different from how she previously remembered it. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Natsuki's face pressed firmly against hers. When she got a good enough look at what was happening, she pushed away and tried to stand up straight. "Did you just kiss me?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"What did you expect, Mai?" said Natsuki, releasing her grip on Mai's face. "A box of chocolates or something?"

"That would have been my first guess. I didn't think you'd do something like _this!_ It looks like Shizuru's influence is starting to grow on you."

Natsuki scowled. "Hey! You take that back!"

"I was only joking," said Mai. "Don't worry. I'll think of a way to repay you. But please...no more towel snappings, okay?"

"Deal," said Natsuki. "Now, if you're going to stay here, you really should put something else on."

"No, thanks. I think I'll head back to the room. Are you coming?"

"I'll catch up with you. Let me change back into my good clothes first."


	2. Guess Who?

_Author's Notes: This is a continuation of the story for my "30 Kisses" LiveJournal challenge entry. Everything Mai-HiME related is the property of Bandai Entertainment and Sunrise, Inc._

_The story involves the friendly and romantic exploits of Mai Tokiha and Natsuki Kuga. If female/female relationships offend or otherwise don't appeal to you, it might be a good idea to hit the "Back" button on your browser._

_Also, I tried my hand at Japanese honorifics for the first time in this chapter. If I messed anything up here, please let me know. (I just know I'm going to run into confusion when Shizuru shows up, since she uses a Kyoto-ben dialect, and her honorifics are slightly different from everyone else.)_

* * *

**Day 2 - Guess Who?**  
Theme: #1 - Look over there!

It was business as usual for Mai at the Linden Baum cafe. She served up a hot meal practically every minute of almost every lunch hour for the last month, and yet it still felt fresh and new to her. She loved to cook, and the students loved to eat up her food. Even more satisfying were the times when she got to rest and sample her own food.

"Mai-chan! Is it my turn yet?" a voice called out.

Out from the back of the kitchen came Akane Higurashi, one of Mai's co-workers. Her cooking skills weren't quite on the same level as Mai's, but she was extremely well-liked by the customers. She often worked the tables and took orders while Mai did the majority of the heavy lifting behind the scenes. The time was four-thirty, and the roles were now reversed; Akane was the chef/waitress in charge, and Mai was her customer.

"Sure, Akane-chan," said Mai. "Whenever you're ready."

"All right! Now it's my time to shine!" Akane said, pumping a fist into the air.

Mai grabbed her lunch box and found a seat at a table with Yuuichi and Mikoto. They were in the middle of their own separate meals--Yuuichi ordered himself a bowl of the soup of the day, while Mikoto had fresh rice and a pair of _taiyaki_ in front of her, not even bothering to use chopsticks to eat them. Yuuichi looked up at the girl in the red and white apron for a split-second and stopped eating long enough to greet her. "Deciding to join us for lunch today, Mai?" he said.

"That's a silly question, Tate-kun," said Mai. "Where else would I be? Even us food-service workers have to eat too, you know."

"I suppose you're right. By the way, this soup is delicious. Did you make it?"

Mai scratched her head. "Actually, that wasn't my doing."

"Well, give my compliments to the chef, whomever he or she might be."

"I'll make sure to tell them on your behalf," said Mai, taking a small bite from the _umeboshi_ in the middle of her box. "So, what are you guys up to?"

"Mashiro and Fumi taught me how to make origami," said Mikoto. "I made a yacht. Wanna see it?"

Mikoto pulled out a small blue piece of paper, folded into the shape of a boat. It was still barely two-dimensional, so it wouldn't float upright in any body of water, but it was a somewhat accurate replica of the real thing.

"It looks very nice, Mikoto. Good job!"

"Thanks!" Mikoto handed the paper yacht to Mai and pulled out another one to sit next to her meal.

"What about you, Yuuichi?" asked Mai.

"I've been asked to rejoin the kendo team...again," he said quietly.

"Why so unhappy? That's great news! You could lead this school to victory again."

"That's exactly the problem. I don't want to be the captain...there's just too much pressure involved coordinating a team. If I'm going to go back on there, I just want to be in it to win matches."

"Well, it's your decision, I guess."

A few minutes into their meal, Akane came by with a pen and paper in hand. "Can I get you guys anything else?" she said.

"Some water would be nice," said Mai, fanning her tongue. "This umeboshi is a bit too spicy for me."

"I'll have some water, too," said Mikoto.

"One for me too, please," said Yuuichi.

"Three glasses of water, coming right up!" Akane wrote down their orders and dashed back to the kitchen.

Yuuichi shifted his focus back to the girls at his lunch table. "What about you, Mai? Tell us about your exciting exploits."

"Yeah!" said Mikoto. "What did you do last night?"

"I spent the night at the gym," said Mai, "and then, well..." Her voice trailed off as she took a bite from the rice in her lunch box to mask the taste of her other spicy snack.

Yuuichi inched his chair closer to Mai and leaned in until their heads were almost touching. "And then what? Tell me!"

"Well..." Mai paused. "I went to the locker room for a 'surprise', and out of nowhere...someone kissed me."

His curiosity increased, blending itself with a hint of jealousy. To think that someone had been given the chance to kiss Mai before he did felt almost blasphemous. "Somebody else kissed you? It wasn't Takeda, was it?" he asked.

"No...it wasn't him."

Yuuichi rattled off a short list of names of some of the male athletes he knew, none of which were familiar to Mai, so she shook her head each time. Finally, he ran out of names to use, so he sighed and said, "All right, I give up. Could you tell us who this mystery kisser was? The tension is killing me."

"Look behind you," said Mai, pointing over Yuuichi's shoulder. He slowly turned around in his chair to see Natsuki standing right behind him.

Yuuichi didn't know very much about Mai in their short time as friends, and he especially didn't see her as the type to go around kissing other girls. Mai herself hadn't given it much thought, either, even though Fuuka Academy's female student body outweighed the males in both size and relative importance. He tried to resist the implication of seeing the two girls together in that light for fear of being labeled a "pervert". With Natsuki standing behind him and Mai sitting next to him, the temptation was too great, and he found himself clutching his head as he tried to suppress the image.

"Are you all right, Yuuichi?" asked Mai. "Do you have a headache?"

"I'm fine, really." Yuuichi got up from his chair and quickly walked toward the bathroom. "Excuse me..."

Natsuki brought her plate and sat down next to Mikoto, who was busy laughing at Yuuichi's predicament. "Should I call the nurse?" she asked. "Or perhaps the janitor?"

"I'm pretty sure he'll be fine," said Mikoto. She picked up her chopsticks and tried to eat the rest of her rice the same way Mai did, but had trouble holding them properly. Mai giggled, and showed Mikoto the correct chopstick technique.

"By the way, Tokiha," Natsuki continued, "when your 'boyfriend' comes out of the bathroom, tell him he owes me a thousand yen."

"He's _not_ my boy--" Mai stopped her sentence in mid-bite. "Wait a minute...what do you mean he owes you a thousand yen?"

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, Mai. That's between me and Tate-kun."

Just then, Akane came by with the girls' glasses of water. "Here you go," she said. "Hey...Yuuichi was here just a few minutes ago. What happened to him?"

"Uh, he had to take a bathroom break," said Mai. "He'll be back shortly."

"I hope he's okay. Oh, well. Enjoy your meal, ladies!" Akane bowed, and returned to her station.

As Mai and her friends waited for Yuuichi to return from the bathroom, they continued to enjoy their meals until the clock struck five o'clock. Mai decided to stay behind and clean up while the others went back home, figuring a few minutes of extra time each day would give her enough money to go into town for the weekend.


	3. Sweet Thing

_Author's Notes: This is a continuation of the story for my "30 Kisses" LiveJournal challenge entry. Mai-HiME, as you probably should know by now, is a Bandai/Sunrise property. _

_This story contains elements of "shoujo-ai"/"yuri", and may describe sexual situations. This particular chapter, however, is as G-rated as they come. I was trying to go for something metaphoric here, since every entry in the contest requires a "kiss" of some sort. _

* * *

**Day 3 - Sweet Thing**  
Theme #23 - Candy

It was hard being a foreign exchange student at such a young age. There was a large language barrier between herself and the other students--they all spoke Japanese, but she only understood American English. Her bright yellow, feathery hair made her stand out among the student body, which often proved to be both beneficial and detrimental. Everybody could easily identify young Alyssa Searrs, but it also meant that she would be the first person to be blamed for any major wrongdoings in the school, no matter how hard she tried to assert her innocence. She had to work extra hard to stay on everyone's good side.

"Miyu?" she said, tugging on the shirt sleeve of the blue-haired girl next to her.

The girl looked back at Alyssa coldly. "What is it, Alyssa?" she asked in a low-pitched monotone.

"Why is everyone staring at us?"

"It appears that these students still do not trust us." She walked down the hallway with Alyssa to her locker and assisted her in breaking the combination lock. "Perhaps it would be wise for us to distribute the confectioneries you father sent to us last week. It might help us earn their favor."

Alyssa smiled. "Oh, you mean the chocolates, right? Good idea. Everyone loves chocolate!"

She reached into the locker and pulled out a bag of teardrop-shaped candies wrapped in various colors of tin foil. "This sure is big," she said. "Do you think there are enough for everyone in the school?"

"Not likely," said Miyu. "If we were to divide this among the entire student body, then everyone would only get half a piece of chocolate."

"You're right. It doesn't seem fair. I wish Daddy had given us more of these."

A male student passed by the duo in the hallway. Miyu took the bag away from Alyssa and tried to get his attention. "Excuse me," she said in slightly accented Japanese.

"Yes?" said the boy.

"Would you like to sample some of our chocolates?" she asked, removing one of the chocolates from the bag. "We hope that you will find them enjoyable."

"Really? You'll let me have one?"

Both girls nodded.

"Thanks!" He took the candy from Miyu's hand and unwrapped the foil, plopping the chocolate in his mouth and walking away.

"See? He liked it," said Alyssa.

"True," said Miyu, "but he only acknowledged us when he saw the candy in my hand. My intention was to get a conversation out of him after he took the candy, but he simply walked away."

"Maybe he had to go to class or something. Let's see what happens if we offer some to one of the girls."

Alyssa watched as Mai, Mikoto and Natsuki came down the hallway from the opposite end. She grabbed the bag of chocolates from Miyu and held it out in front of her. "Hey! Hey!" she called.

Mikoto spotted the bag and stopped dead in her tracks, pulling on both girls' arms to get them to stop, as well. "Hello," she said to Alyssa in her best attempt at English. "What's that?"

"They're called 'chocolate kisses'," said Alyssa. "Would you like some?"

Mikoto nodded happily. "Yes! Yes, please!"

"Take as many as you like."

Mikoto did just that, grabbing a handful of candies from the bag and dividing them among the trio. "Thank you, Alyssa!" she said.

"Y-you're...welcome," the little girl said.

Natsuki examined the tiny foil-wrapped candy with a keen eye. "A 'chocolate kiss', huh?" She unwrapped it and let the chocolate inside melt in her mouth. "Hey, this tastes pretty good."

Mai popped two chocolate kisses into her mouth at the same time. "Yeah. We should ask the guy at the candy shop to sell these," she said. "Thanks, girls."

She opened another one and tossed it into the air, daring Natsuki to catch it without using her hands. Natsuki followed the floating candy with her head tilted back, allowing it to fall right into her mouth. Miyu simply stood back and watched as the other four girls laughed. It wasn't exactly the groundbreaking success she hoped for, but at least those three pairs of eyes were less likely to be fixated on Alyssa. For now, the two of them were safe.

Mikoto looked at the bag again. "Can we have some more, please?" she asked, in Japanese this time.

"Actually, we were going to give these out to the other students," said Miyu.

"We could help you with that."

Mai turned around and waved to the other passing students. "Hey, everybody!" she said to them. "The little blond girl's giving away free candy!"

About a hundred students descended upon Alyssa and Miyu like seagulls, each with their hands out to get a taste of their sweet chocolate. Alyssa hid behind her taller companion while she tried to pry the other students off her. Mai and the others slipped away from the chaos and walked toward the front door of the building as quickly as possible to avoid getting run over.

Once they were out of range, Natsuki pelted Mai with one of her small candy wrappers. "Was that really necessary?" she said.

"I was just trying to help," said Mai. "Besides, any day where we can get free food is a good one."

Neither Natsuki nor Mikoto could argue with that.

"Well, girls, I have to go," Natsuki said as she split off from the main group. "Class is about to start, and my teacher won't allow me to have food. I'll let you have my last chocolate if you want it, Mai. Heads up!"

She lobbed the last of her chocolates in Mai's direction and watched the redhead nearly fall over herself trying to catch it with her mouth. Mai caught it anyway, and smiled at Natsuki as she climbed up the stairs. "Come on, Mikoto," she said. "We'd better get out of here before we become late for class ourselves."

"I'll race you!" said Mikoto, giggling as she ran out the door ahead of Mai.


	4. Flying High

_Disclaimer and author's notes: This is the fourth chapter of my "30 Kisses" fic. Only 26 more to go! As stated before, the Mai-HiME universe isn't my property. I'm just not that good.  
_

_This time around, I figured I'd put the second half of this series' title to good use, actually having the girls _use_ their HiME powers for a short mission. This isn't a really big action sequence, but at least it's something. I had to watch the first episode again to make sure I got the summoning method right. _

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**Day 4 - Flying High**  
Theme #15 - Perfect Blue

Patrol detail was one of the least glamorous assignments a HiME could receive. There was so much ground to cover at Fuuka, but only about a dozen people to take care of it. The worst part about it was that everyone had to participate, and needed to be ready to fight at a moment's notice. Even one minor security lapse could cost several students their lives. Mai knew this as well as anyone, as she swore to use her powers to protect her younger brother at all costs, hoping that one day he would be well enough to stand up for himself.

She stopped just short of the north wall of the school, having traversed the perimeter of the school on foot several times. Her pulse beat rapidly and her vision started to blur, so she searched for the nearest bench and laid down on it to recuperate. She got enough time to catch her breath, but was awakened by the shrill sound of a whistle, accompanied by an equally shrill-sounding voice.

"Enjoying the weather, are you, Mai Tokiha?"

Haruka stood over Mai with a bamboo sword pointed at her head. She didn't use it to fight, but for handing out her own brand discipline to disobedient students. "I don't recall relieving you of your duties yet," she said.

"I'm tired, damn it," Mai said grumpily. "We've been walking around the school for hours, and haven't found or fought a single Orphan yet. Don't you think you should call this off for now?"

"I'll be the one to make that decision, thank you very much."

"Why aren't you out on patrol with the rest of us?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" said Haruka, patting the sword against her other hand. "And since you seem energetic enough to ask questions, you can get back to work by patrolling the area one more time."

Mai hoisted herself up and brushed the dirt from her uniform. "Again?" she groaned.

"Yes, _again_. I don't care how you do it; just get it done!" Haruka walked away from Mai and headed east to examine the other areas of the school.

Just as soon as she left, Natsuki came in from behind Mai to start her shift guarding the north wall. She held a small gun by her waist, keeping her finger close to the trigger to quickly eliminate any foe standing in the way of its silver bullets. "See anything yet?" she said.

"No," said Mai, turning around to face her. "You?"

"Nothing." She aimed her gun around her and to the sides, hoping to sniff out a potential target. "I don't understand why we're out here. There hasn't been a single Orphan on the ground since we started this patrol. We should be inside where it's cool...not slaving away under the hot sun."

"I agree with you," said Mai, "but you know how Haruka is. 'It's a HiME's reponsibility to be vigilant at all times' and all that." She finished the last portion of the sentence with a mocking tone, certain that she would get away with it without Haruka standing within earshot.

Suddenly, Mai caught a burst of inspiration, and she patted Natsuki on the shoulder before she could walk away. "Hey, Natsuki!" she said, affecting an almost devilish grin.

"What is it now?" the other girl asked.

"Wanna do something exciting?"

"Yeah. I don't care, as long as I don't have to work for it. What did you have in mind?"

"Ever ridden on the back of a dragon?"

"Say what?!"

Natsuki was poised to hit the girl in the head for asking such a foolish question at a serious time, but pulled her hand back just before making impact. "Are you crazy?" she asked.

"Of course not," said Mai. "You said that you didn't see anything on the ground earlier, right?"

"Yeah. What's your point?"

"Well, what if there's something lurking toward the school through the air? We could be up there to intercept it. You know, sorta like those 'eye-in-the-sky' traffic helicopters."

"What if one of us falls or gets knocked out of the air, huh? This concrete isn't exactly cushioned, you know."

"I won't let either of us fall. Besides, it's not that hard. It would be like riding a motorcycle...or a rollercoaster."

Natsuki failed to grasp Mai's analogy. Her motorcycle had wheels and couldn't fly, and she had never ridden a rollercoaster that could breathe fire. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"If you want to wear your legs out by doing the rest of this on foot, then be my guest."

She wasted little time giving Mai her answer. "All right. Let's do this," she said.

Mai ordered Natsuki to stand back while she sought out a wide enough area to safely summon her CHILD. With both arms raised in the air, the _magatama_ on her wrists ignited and spun around wildly, generating a wind that kicked up dust around her in a circle. She tilted her head skyward and shouted, "Kagutsuchi! Hear my call!"

The swirling dust subsided, and a giant dragon with scales of shimmering metal swooped down from the clear blue sky above. The dragon's eyes fixated upon its summoner, lowering its head to the ground as it awaited its next command. "Come on," said Mai, grabbing hold of Kagutsuchi's jawbone as she began to climb on the beast's back. After reaching the top, she pulled Natsuki up with all of her strength, and the two of them crawled over to the middle of the dragon's spine. "Hold on as tight as you can," she warned.

Mai gripped the sides of Kagutsuchi's scales and pulled backward, sending the duo rocketing into the air. Natsuki couldn't find any similar handholds in her position, so she clutched onto Mai's stomach, both girls screaming as the dragon ascended several hundred kilometers above the school. Once they had reached a point where they could level out, Mai lifted her head and allowed the wind to whip through her hair and kiss her cheeks just enough to keep her from overheating.

Mai felt her heart beating extra-fast as she zoomed up into the air. She didn't know whether it was from the adrenaline rush of being so high above the school, or from Natsuki holding on to her so closely. Either way, she knew it felt _good_. "Woo-hoo!" she cheered. She resisted the urge to lift her fist in the air, as it would cause her to lose control of Kagutsuchi and send them both hurtling to their deaths.

"Have you ever done this before?" Natsuki shouted, barely able to hear herself over the howling wind.

"This is only my second time!" Mai replied.

"What did you say?"

"I said, this is only my second time!"

"Oh!" Natsuki's voice revealed a hint of concern. _This girl's lost her damn mind taking us this high,_ she thought.

The two girls looked around the sky, watching for stray Orphans to come into their field of vision. Mai looked in front, while Natsuki covered the area behind them. She fixed her gaze on a shadowy winged creature below Kagutsuchi's tail, slowly heading straight for the gate they were watching earlier. "Mai!" she shouted. "Look down! I think I found something!"

Mai turned around to face Natsuki, but couldn't find the target her riding partner had spotted. "What?"

"I said, I think I found something! Look!"

She pointed again to the flying beast, which had now become smaller in the sky as it accelerated its pace toward Fuuka. Mai ordered Kagutsuchi to turn around and chase after the creature. She pulled in close enough for Natsuki to fire a warning shot at it, clipping it on the wing. It turned around and made a suicidal charge toward the giant dragon facing it, hoping to get a single swipe at its attackers. Mai lifted her hand and launched a fireball at the creature, ducking as it flew over her head with its claw extended, just barely scratching her hair. Natsuki fired several more shots before it fell out of offensive range. They quickly reversed course and prepared for one final strike against the rogue Orphan. The dragon's mouth opened slowly, unleashing a huge jet of flames that consumed the beast completely, sending it to a quick and undignified death.

"Just where did that thing come from?" Natsuki wondered.

Mai shrugged her shoulders, and plotted a course back to Fuuka. "Who cares?" she said. "At least it won't bother us anymore. Let's get back down to the surface so that we can tell everybody what we saw."

Kagutsuchi pulled itself into the open area where it was initially summoned. Its job done, Mai hopped off the dragon's body and dematerialized it with a simple vocal command.

Haruka returned to greet the two girls, holding her whistle in one hand and her bamboo sword at her waist. She was considerably less angry than she was earlier, but no less inclined to stick her finger in their faces. "Where did you disappear to earlier?" she asked. "I thought I told you to patrol the area. You'd better have a good excuse for your insubordination, missy!"

"I did just like you said," Mai replied. "I scouted the area above Fuuka."

"You summoned your CHILD outside of battle in broad daylight? How foolish! That's practically lighting up a neon sign for the enemy that reads 'Fresh Meat Available'!"

"We saw something flying in the air toward the school," said Natsuki. "There was no way we would have been able to intercept it on the ground. It was the only one, so chances are it might have been a spy."

"Natsuki and I destroyed it before it could get away," Mai added. "If we let that thing escape, it could have returned with hundreds more like it. Shouldn't that count for something?"

Haruka put her sword down and smiled just a little bit, but not enough to compromise her serious demeanor. "I don't approve of the way you handled your duty, but at least you did your part in protecting the safety of the school. You've earned your keep for the day."

"Does that mean we can go inside now?"

"You can leave," said Haruka, waving her finger in the air again, "but I'm still giving you two demerits for sleeping on the job. Be more judicious with your breaks in the future. Understood?"

Mai sighed. "Yes, Haruka."

Haruka blew her whistle again and gestured toward the rest of the HiME girls to allow them to disperse. Mai looked around the field for the bench she rested on earlier and promptly sat down in it, staring at the cloudless sky once again. "I'm glad that's over," she said.

"Me, too," said Natsuki. "By the way, Mai...about your little dragon?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Never, _ever,_ ask me to ride on one of those things again." She holstered her gun and walked toward the girls' dorm, leaving Mai alone to sit under the warming rays of the afternoon sun. "I'll see you later."

_Silly girl,_ Mai thought. _She couldn't possibly comprehend the excitement she'll be missing._


	5. A Blossoming Friendship

_Author's Notes: We're now up to entry #5 of my LiveJournal's "30 Kisses" challenge entry, utilizing two of the main Mai-HiME girls, Mai Tokiha and Natsuki Kuga. Said series was created by members of the Sunrise Entertainment animation crew, and licensed by Bandai. Some chapters contain "shoujo-ai"/"yuri" content (girl/girl relationships). Do not read in a dimly lit room. And always, always remember: it's okay to stop and surface for air every once in a while. _

_I'm surprised at how much fun I'm having writing these two. I didn't expect it to be so popular because...you know. Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy reading this. Here we go!_

* * *

**Day 5 - A Blossoming Friendship**  
Theme #11 - Gardenia

"Yes! Yes! Drink from the fountain of heaven, my sweet. Let your beauty be shared with the thousands of others in this garden. Soon, you shall grow tall enough to become one with the sky itself!"

The voice of Shizuru Fujino echoed throughout the garden of the courtyard for all of the flowers to hear. The lone gardenia sitting in the dead center received most of her attention, as well as most of the water from the can held in her left hand. She planned to take extra-special care of it, and give it to Natsuki as a present once it had fully grown.

Shizuru took Natsuki's hand into her own the instant she came out of the student council room. "Hello, there," she said with a smile. "I'm glad you came."

"Good afternoon, Shizuru," said Natsuki. "What's this all about, anyway?"

"I wanted you to share the splendor of the garden I've created here. Don't you just love it? I started planting these flowers about a week ago, at the beginning of spring." Shizuru pointed to a row of red azaleas to her right, surrounding a small Satsuki azalea bonsai sapling. "There are few better feelings in the world than being able to grow fresh flowers in the spring. It'll take a while for them to fully blossom, but when they're finished, this courtyard will look postcard-perfect."

Natsuki bent down to take a better look at the azaleas and other flowers around her. "Yes, they are starting to grow in nicely."

"Yukino gave me the idea of planting these in the shape of the school logo, or something that spells out the word 'Fuuka'. She thinks it might improve school spirit."

"But very few people even know this garden even exists besides you, me, and the other members of the council. How would they even see it?"

Shizuru brought the watering can to a nearby multicolored patch of chrysanthemums, giving them a chance to nourish and grow along with the rest of the garden. "You know, I hadn't thought of that," she said. "Perhaps we could grow another patch near the front gate of the school, where everybody could see it."

"Wouldn't it take a while for everything to grow in?"

"Not really. It usually takes about two weeks."

"I see."

"Here...let me show you another flower of mine."

Shizuru led Natsuki toward the gardenia in the center of the garden. Its white petals were barely beginning to peek out from the bud. "One day, this flower could be yours," she told her.

"This little thing?" said Natsuki.

"It may be small now, but given enough time and proper care, it will be big and strong, just like you. I want you to hold on to it forever, as a memento of our special friendship."

"Huh?"

Shizuru frowned, noticing that Natsuki wasn't paying attention to her. "Natsuki!" she said. "Are you listening to me?"

Natsuki tilted her head down, staring away from Shizuru and at the flower. "I'm sorry. I was distracted by something. I didn't mean to insult you like that."

The perky smile returned to Shizuru's face as if nothing had happened at all. "You're forgiven, darling. You know I could never stay mad at you. Anyway--"

Before she could continue her explanation, she was interrupted by another voice coming from the student council room. "Natsuki! Where are you?"

Natsuki turned around to see a familiar-looking redhead scanning the garden. "Mai? How did she find me here?"

"Oh? I didn't know Mai-han was coming, as well," said Shizuru. "The day's just full of surprises."

Mai ran out to greet Natsuki, but backed off when she saw Shizuru holding onto her hand. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I had no idea you were meeting with Shizuru today. I'll just leave you two alone."

"Nonsense, Mai-han," said Shizuru, beckoning the girl to join her circle. "Come join us." She took Mai's hand and brought her in to admire the scenery, gathering the two girls around the field of white lilacs next to her "special" gardenia.

"This is quite an impressive garden you have here, Shizuru," said Mai.

"Thank you. Back in Kyoto, my parents used to keep a garden full of all kinds of different plants. Honeysuckle, rhododendrons, azaleas...flowers from all over the world."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. It was beautiful, too. So many different colors and wonderful scents. I wished my mother could have kept them growing forever."

"Have you ever thought of starting a botany or gardening club here?" asked Natsuki.

"As much as I'd like to do that, I couldn't. Between my studies and running the student council, I have a full schedule on my hands." Shizuru wrapped her arms tightly around Natsuki and leaned in close enough to whisper in her ear. "Of course, if someone else were to take the helm of this new club, I'd be eternally grateful."

Natsuki struggled to loosen herself from Shizuru's grip. "No thanks," she said. "Flowers just aren't my thing."

"How about you, Mai?" asked Shizuru, swooping in to put a similar embrace on the red-haired girl.

"Me? Uh...thanks for the offer, but I also have a part-time job to worry about. If you want, I could do some advertising to see if anyone else wants to start it up."

"I suppose that'll be fine, too...I guess."

Shizuru let go of Mai and turned her attention back to the garden before them. She pointed to several different patches of flowers, seemingly at random. "My mother also used to tell me that each flower symbolizes something. For example, these white lilies represent purity and sweetness. I think they're perfect for capturing the natural beauty of this place."

"What about these?" asked Mai, staring at the ring of azaleas.

"The azaleas stand for temperance--moderation in all things. As you can see, I planted an equal number of azaleas around this tree here, so that everything balances out when it's fully grown. Of course, one of my favorite flowers of all," said Shizuru, donning a pair of latex gloves, "is the chrysanthemum."

Natsuki scratched her head. "What's so special about chrysanthemums?" she asked.

Shizuru reached down and plucked two red flowers from the patch and handed one to each of the other girls. "They're very easy to handle, and one of many different ways to express your affection for someone. That, and they're not as prickly as roses."

"Thank you, Shizuru-san," said Mai, placing the chrysanthemum into her breast pocket. "I think this would make a nice lapel pin."

"What do you plan to do with yours, Natsuki?"

"I haven't decided yet," said Natsuki, "but I'll make sure it gets a good home."

The alarm on Shizuru's wristwatch let out a faint chirping noise. "Oh! Is it four o'clock already?" she said. "Looks like I'd better call today's meeting to order. You're welcome to sit in on it, if you'd like."

She curtsied and waved toward both girls, and then left to meet with Haruka, Yukino and several others in the student council room. Natsuki and Mai waited behind as she walked away, admiring the flowers given to them. "Mai?" Natsuki said quietly.

"Yes?" said Mai.

"Will you...accept this flower?"

"Are you sure it's okay? I-I mean, the thought is wonderful and everything, but I already have--"

Natsuki handed her chrysanthemum to Mai, holding it close to her face. "Please...I want you to have it."

Mai hesitated for a moment, and then took the flower from Natsuki and placed it next to the one in her pocket. She moved closer to Natsuki and gave her a hug, followed by a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Natsuki," she said. "I'll take good care of it."


	6. Sing Your Hearts Out

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Entry #6 of my "30 Kisses" Mai-HiME fic. Sunrise brought these characters to life, and I'm merely writing a story about them. No claims of canonicity implied, obviously._

_I had to think for a few moments about how I was going to do this particular entry. I don't like writing songfics, so I didn't include any lyrics in this chapter, though the songs of two different bands are referenced here. "Rock and Roll All Nite" is a pretty old song, so I wouldn't be surprised if it popped up in karaoke bars around the world. _

* * *

**Day 6 - Sing Your Hearts Out**  
Theme #7 - Superstar

Natsuki couldn't believe it. Once again, she had been suckered into spending the weekend "out on the town" against her will. Two Saturdays ago, it was with Mikoto at an arcade on the south side of town. Mikoto cried every time Natsuki beat her at air hockey. After seven games in a row, it became so disruptive that the manager had to bribe the girls with free ice cream to keep them away from the place for a while.

Last week, she was "invited" by Shizuru to a Noh theater production. She fell asleep halfway through the slow, and the rest of the night was a blur to her.

Tonight, on the one night when she actually wanted to study, she found herself at the mercy of yet another overzealous female friend anxious to show her a good time. This time, the perpetrator was none other than Mai Tokiha, who found herself alternating between staring at Natsuki and laughing at the bad vocal performances of her other friends.

The memory of Monday's surprise encounter was still fresh in Mai's mind, but neither she nor Natsuki had talked to each other about it since that day. Natsuki didn't feel much like saying anything, so Mai brought her down to a particular karaoke bar in hopes of getting her to open up.

"What's the matter, Natsuki?" said Mai. "You've been quiet since we got here."

"I don't want to talk about it," said Natsuki after taking a sip from her can of cola. "I didn't even want to come out here tonight, anyway."

"Come on! It's the weekend! School work can wait for another few hours, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I get that, but did you have to take us out to a karaoke joint? The songs here are pretty bad, and the singers even more so."

"That's the whole point," said Mai, nudging her friend with an elbow. "I know I'm not a good singer, so I don't care if I get laughed at. I'm just here to have fun. Look...even Midori-sensei is here tonight."

Everyone's attention turned to the stage as Midori Sugiura took control of the microphone. "Wow! That was certainly an...interesting rendition of the song," she said. "Now then, we're going to continue our 'Signature Song Saturday' with a selection from the seventies. Any volunteers?"

After sitting through an off-key version of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" where the previous singer forgot to follow half the lyrics, the crowd was reluctant to volunteer to get up on stage, for they had all wasted their breaths from laughing so hard.

Midori tapped on the microphone a few times. "Anybody at all?"

After a moment of awkward silence, Mai finally raised her hand. "We'd like to sing!" she said.

A spotlight beamed over Mai and Natsuki's table, highlighting the duo as Mai hurriedly dragged her friend to the stage. "Wait a minute!" Natsuki protested. "I didn't--"

"Wonderful!" said Midori. "Looks like we're going to have a duet on our hands."

She went off-stage for a few seconds to retrieve a second microphone. "Now then, ladies," she said, "pick a song from the jukebox behind you, and show us what you've got."

Mai and Natsuki turned around to examine the jukebox, which was set up like a desktop computer encased in a machine that served little other purpose but to display flashy neon lights. They scrolled through a list of songs, most of which were performed by American bands that both girls knew by name, but never actually listened to out of unfamiliarity with foreign music. They agreed on one song which they thought would be most familiar to everyone: "Rock and Roll All Nite" by KISS. A few seconds after Mai punched in the selection, the opening drum beat started, and both girls took to their microphones, tapping their feet in sync with the song's rhythm.

The lyrics to the song appeared on a television screen in the back of the bar, slowly turning blue as a backing vocalist sang them. Mai sang the first few lines of the first verse, trying hard to keep her voice in tune with the singer and pronouncing the words carefully to the best of her ability. After her part was done, she pointed her microphone toward Natsuki, who sang the second part of the first verse with similar cadence and similar fears, wondering if she would become the butt of many student jokes on the following Monday.

The crowd sat silently and listened to their performance, without laughing or pointing fingers at either of the girls. They were reasonably on-key and, while there was a bit of shock in hearing two Japanese girls singing an exclusively English-language song, they sang competently without any major mistakes. As the first verse concluded, Mai and Natsuki became a little more confident in their abilities, and they put an even bigger effort into singing the chorus. It was merely one line sung several times over and over, but it was simple enough for anyone of just about any language to understand.

The second verse brought a smile to Natsuki's face as the crowd sang and clapped along with them. This encouraged Mai to add a few extra moves to her repertoire, such as dancing in place on stage and flailing her hair wildly. Natsuki laughed at Mai as she made herself look silly for the crowd, thinking about how cute it was that everyone was laughing with them instead of at them. She injected more enthusiasm into her own act, throwing in an air guitar solo for the fans at the halfway point. When the song concluded, the two girls held hands and collectively curtsied to a round of applause from the crowd.

Midori got up from her seat and came on stage to greet her two students. "That was wonderful," she said. "Simply wonderful."

"It was nothing," said Mai, scratching her head with her free hand.

"Would you two care to provide the audience with an encore?"

The crowd stared back enthusiastically. They loved the performance and wanted to hear more, but Natsuki had a different idea. "No thanks, Midori-sensei," she said. "I think one song's enough for us tonight."

Mai and Natsuki walked back to their table, still upbeat about the crowd's reaction to their song. Mai looked around the room to make sure there were no other familiar faces looking at them, and then she leaned in to whisper to Natsuki. "Could you come outside with me for a moment?" she said. "There's something personal I really need to discuss with you."

Natsuki simply nodded and got up from the table, leaving her soda can behind.

* * *

The area outside the karaoke bar was quiet. The sun had recently set, and the street lights illuminated the walkway with a soft amber glow. Pedestrians passed along the sidewalk every few minutes, making it impossible for Mai and Natsuki to get complete privacy. Someone was likely to overhear their conversation, so they moved to a well-lit back corner of the building where fewer people could see them. 

"Okay, Mai," said Natsuki. "What was it you wanted to talk about?" Her voice was as stern as it was during a normal day, but she held onto Mai's hands and looked directly into her eyes, just to show her friend that she indeed _had_ softened up a little bit since coming out to the karaoke bar.

"Something's been bothering me lately. I've still been thinking about what happened on Monday...in the locker room..."

"What? You're still thinking about _that_ moment? I told you, I don't want to talk about that anymore."

"Well, I do. I just find it weird that you'd do something like that out of the blue. I mean, it felt good and all, but...I get the feeling that someone else may have put you up to it."

"What would give you that idea?"

Mai recalled Tuesday's conversation at the Linden Baum, and how Yuuichi bolted into hiding just after Natsuki arrived to sit with them. "Right after Tate-kun left, you mentioned something about him owing you money," she said. "Is there something going on between the two of you that you're trying to hide from me?"

Natsuki hesitated. She didn't like to keep secrets from her friends, and especially had no idea that Mai would figure out _her_ secret so quickly. "If I tell you, do you promise that you won't get mad at me?" she asked.

"I can't promise that," Mai said firmly.

Natsuki didn't expect her to say _that_, either. "At least you're being honest. Most people say they won't get mad, but then they do just that when I tell them what they want to hear. Anyway, if you must know...yes. Yuuichi and I met in private a week ago, and we had a nice long talk...mostly about you. During our conversation, he bet me a thousand yen that I wouldn't give you a kiss."

Mai broke away from Natsuki, shocked and somewhat angered that her suspicion had been confirmed. "Are you trying to tell me that was all part of some stupid prank?" she asked, trying her hardest not to yell, as she remembered that she invited Natsuki out to the karaoke bar to cheer her up. If either of them got mad now, neither girl would know the full truth about that fateful encounter.

"No," said Natsuki. "I didn't want to do it at first, because I didn't feel that it was right to take the poor boy's money over something that simple. Since I made the deal with him, I had no choice but to keep my promise. If I had meant for it to be a joke, then I would have laughed at you after seeing the look on your face...but that would just be mean."

"If you didn't feel comfortable with it, then why did you do it in the first place?"

"That's something you'll have to ask him. We should probably get back to the dorm. We'll worry about this in the morning after we're both rested."

"Good idea." Mai yawned, and followed Natsuki to her motorcycle, clinging to her stomach as they rode back to Fuuka. "By the way...you did a great job out there on stage tonight."

"Thanks. You were pretty good yourself."

"Wanna do it again next week?"

"Don't push it."

During their trip back, Mai started to feel sleepy, so she rested her head on Natsuki's back. Her head flooded with thoughts as she faded into sleep. _This is all happening so fast...first, the kiss in the locker room...and then the flower in the courtyard... But now, she tells me that Yuuichi's responsible for some of this. How much of it is real? Still...I can't be mad at her. Natsuki wouldn't do anything like that if she didn't mean it, even just a little bit...would she?_

By the time they got back, Mai was fully asleep, and felt herself being carried on Natsuki's back all the way to their room. As much as she didn't like to admit it, Natsuki thought Mai looked cute as she slept. She kissed her fingers and pressed them lightly on Mai's cheek before retiring to her own bed for the evening.


	7. Answers

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes: We're now up to Day 7, and still pressing forward. Now that I've tried (and probably failed) to resolve the Mai/Natsuki/Yuuichi side plot, I can continue to concentrate on the main characters. I still want to explore some of the many other cast members, so there are chances that Yuuichi and others will return in Week 2, though I haven't exactly decided "how" yet._

_So, yeah...once again, Mai-HiME is a Bandai/Sunrise thing. I'm just a fan, so this story has absolutely no bearing in canon._

* * *

**Day 7 - Answers**  
Theme #19 - Red

Mai sat and stared out the window of her room, wondering where the sun had gone. She planned to spend the day walking outdoors, but the clouds above threatened to drop a heaping of rain on her little corner of the world. Thus, she was forced to convene with her friends in their dorm while they waited for the weather to improve. While she went to the bookshelf to find a book to read, she heard her cell phone ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mai...it's Natsuki," said the voice on the other end. "Do you want anything from the store while I'm out?"

"Hold on," said Mai. "Let me check."

Mai walked over to the refrigerator and opened it, scanning the top shelf to find something to drink. She hadn't felt thirsty until Natsuki mentioned anything about shopping. _Stupid light's busted,_ she thought as she reached for a bottle of milk. _I'll have to call someone from maintenance and have it fixed._

"No, it looks like we're fine for now."

"All right. I'll bring back a few snacks for us. I should be back from the market in a few minutes. Keep a seat ready at the table for me, okay?"

"Sure thing. Bye!"

Mai hung up the phone and turned around to see Mikoto playing with a deck of cards. "What are you doing?" asked Mai.

"I'm learning how to shuffle," Mikoto replied. She tried to form a bridge with the deck, but lost control of her thumbs and sent the cards flying all over the table. "Looks like my technique needs a bit of work, huh?"

"It's okay, Mikoto. Just keep practicing. You'll get the hang of it in time. It took me a while before I was able to do this the right way myself."

"Could you show me how to do it?"

"Sure, why not?"

Mai helped Mikoto pick up the cards and gather them in the deck once again. Before she could start shuffling, she heard a knock on the door. "I wonder if that's Natsuki," she said. "I'll get it!"

She got up to open it, expecting to see Natsuki, but the person standing behind the door was one she least expected. His clothes were covered in rain water, but he still carried a great big smile on his face. "Hey there, sis!" said the boy.

Mai's younger brother hadn't personally visited her in the last few weeks, but since Fuuka students didn't have to take classes on Sundays, Takumi was free to go whenever he wanted.

"Takumi!" said Mai. "I'm...surprised to see you."

She exchanged cheek-kisses with her brother, and then led him inside to an empty seat at the table. "You're certainly in a good mood today," she said.

"Well, it's the first time I've been able to come over to your dorm, for once. You've always come to check me out, so I figured I'd return the favor." He took a few sheets of paper towels and used them to dry his hair and clothing.

"You're all wet," said Mikoto. "Where's your umbrella? Mai says you'll catch cold if you stay out in the rain without covering yourself up."

"It's not really that bad outside," said Takumi. "I should be fine when I go back to my room."

Mai poured glasses of milk for herself and her brother, mixing in some chocolate powder for flavoring. "Do you want something to eat?"

"No thanks, sis. I already had lunch before I came over."

Someone else knocked on the door. This time, Mikoto jumped up from the table to answer it. "Hey, don't I know you?" she said, cocking her head to the side.

Yuuichi looked at the young girl standing in front of him, cocking his head to the opposite side. "Um, yeah," he said. "Is Mai in there with you?"

"Uh-huh. Just a second." She turned around and yelled toward the table where Mai and Takumi were enjoying their glasses of milk. "Mai! Someone's at the door for you!"

"I'll be right there!"

Mai got up from her seat to answer the door, but when she saw Yuuichi standing in front of her, her smile melted away. "Oh," she said. "Hello, Yuuichi."

"'Oh'?" he replied. "Is that all you have to say after inviting me to hang out with you? If this is a bad time, I can always come back later."

Yuuichi turned around and started to walk away, but Mai grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward her. She closed the door to her room to avoid making a scene in front of Takumi. "Not so fast!" she said. "You're not going anywhere until you answer some questions for me."

A lump formed in Yuuichi's throat when his eyes met Mai's scowling face. "Q-questions?"

"That's right. What's this I hear about you making a bet with Natsuki at my expense, huh?"

"What are you talking about?"

Mai's face reddened as she began her rant. "Don't start playing dumb now! You know exactly what I'm talking about...getting her to kiss me in the girls' locker room. I could just imagine what was going through your head that night, you pervert!"

"Wait a second...I don't remember anything about a locker r--"

Before Yuuichi could finish his sentence, he felt Mai's hand whip him hard across his right cheek. "So the accused admits to his crime," she said. "It looks like I'll have to stand here and think of a suitable punishment for you."

"Hey! What was that for?" he said, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek. "Don't I get a chance to defend myself?"

"All right..._one_ explanation, and it had better be a good one."

_Geez! What's this girl's problem?_, Yuuichi wondered. _I didn't even do anything that bad._

"I'm waiting!" Mai stared deeper into Yuuichi's eyes, folding her arms over her chest so that the boy would stay focused on her. He couldn't stand to see Mai angry at him, but he knew that looking in any other direction would likely leave him wide open for another slap.

"Yes, it's true," he said. "Natsuki and I did talk to each other before the locker room incident. We talked about a lot of things--school, sports, the weather--you know, small talk. Then the topic of your relationship came up, and she wouldn't say anything to me. She wouldn't even tell me whether or not she liked you. That's when I started to get desperate. I said, 'Natsuki, I'll give you a thousand yen if you tell me what you really think about Mai.'"

"What about the kiss?"

"It wasn't my idea. Really!"

"A likely story..." The redness in Mai's face disappeared, and she poked him softly on the nose.

"Okay, I _might_ have also added a 'show me' to that last part. In all honesty, I expected you to tell me that she beat the crap out of you."

Mai had the same feeling when she ran into Natsuki in the gym, but something still didn't add up. "Had it ever occurred to you that there might have been an easier way to get Natsuki to open up?" she asked. "You know, like getting her to talk to _me_ first?"

"Well, I'm sorry. It was the first thing that popped into my head. I didn't know she was going to react that way."

Takumi opened up the door, wondering why Mai hadn't returned to talk to him in the last few minutes. "Is everything all right out here, sis?" he said.

"Yeah," Mai said unconvincingly. "Everything's fine. I'll be back inside in a little bit."

Mai turned her attention back to Yuuichi. She was almost fully satisfied with his explanation, but saw no point in wasting any more time by further interrogating him. "All right," she said. "I believe you."

"You do?" said Yuuichi.

"Yeah. Just don't let it happen again, or you'll end up losing more than just a thousand yen. You got that?" She shot another glance at him, but all she could do was sigh and smile, now that she had released all of the anger from her system.

"I gotcha...I gotcha." Yuuichi let out a short sigh of his own, and then followed Mai into her dorm.

Takumi and Mikoto were busy helping Natsuki unload the groceries she had purchased from the store. Mai had spent all of her attention in the past few minutes on Yuuichi, and failed to notice Natsuki's entry into the room. Still, she was grateful to see that Natsuki had returned safely, and so she gave the girl a hug before helping her unload new food and drink for the room. _I have a feeling that everything is going to be all right between us from now on,_ she thought.

"Hey! Hey!" Natsuki's voice snapped Mai out of her own little world. "Are you going to help me put these away?"

"Oh...of course."

Mai took out a six-pack of chocolate pudding and passed one out to each of her friends. She was delighted to see them all getting along with one another. A few weeks ago, she wouldn't have considered gathering them all together in one place, but when she saw them chatting it up and enjoying their pudding, it reminded her of how good she had it since entering Fuuka. She made a mental note to apologize to Yuuichi for yelling at him, for as odd as it sounded, he was the one who helped get her friendship with Natsuki on the right track.


	8. Lockdown

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: I arrived too late in the game to take any credit for Mai-HiME. Chances are if I did have creative control, the show wouldn't be anywhere near as popular as it is...but there'd be a lot more 'shipping._

_Speaking of 'shipping, we're now on to week two of this vignette-based theoretical "love story" between Mai Tokiha and Natsuki Kuga. This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, but it's still tangentially related to the other seven. _

* * *

**Day 8 - Lockdown**  
Theme #13 - Excessive Chain

_That's the last time I leave my bike in the school parking lot,_ Natsuki thought to herself.

She nearly lost her only motorcycle last night. The light-duty chain that held it was almost defeated by a cunning bandit with a hacksaw. Scratch marks were visible in several different spots, but none were deep enough to fully break through. Natsuki determined that it was too risky to leave it alone like that, so she wrapped a heavier chain around it near the bike rack. "That should do it," she said after kissing one of the chain links.

A few short moments afterward, Mai came walking down the bike path, waving to her brother and begging him to hurry up. Takumi lagged a few meters behind his sister, pausing at a nearby lamp post to catch his breath. "Come on, Takumi!" she called out.

"Slow down, sis," he said between breaths. "You move too fast for me."

"Hey, wasn't it your idea to come outside and enjoy the weather today? I figured it would be more interesting if we sped things up a little."

Takumi picked himself up and joined Mai and Natsuki near the bike rack. "Yeah, but did we have to run all the way around the track, too?"

"It's been a while since we've had a good jog. I tried to move slowly so that you could keep up. You really should do a bit of walking every now and then to stay in shape."

Takumi inspected Natsuki's black motorcycle, marveling at how it made the normal bicycles look puny by its mere presence. "That's a cool bike you have there," he said. "Where'd you get it, anyway?"

"A friend gave it to me as a present for my sixteenth birthday," said Natsuki. "He even taught me how to ride it. Ever since I got this, it's become my most prized possession."

"Really?" Mai teased. "Do you value it so much that you'd risk getting suspended for leaving it outside the designated parking area?"

Natsuki scoffed at Mai's suggestion. "This is a very expensive vehicle. I have to keep a close eye on it, or else somebody could come in the night and take it away. Of course, I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand that."

Mai picked up the chain and played with it a bit. "You're awfully protective of this thing, aren't you, Natsuki? I don't think a thief would go to the trouble of cutting through this many links just to get to your bike."

"Taking extra precautions are necessary sometimes."

Mai went over to the blue bicycle on the far end of the bike rack and unfastened its lock with a small key. "Don't you think it would be easier on you if you used a regular bike?" she asked.

"Probably...but my motorcycle gets me where I need to go in a hurry," said Natsuki. "You just can't ride a regular bicycle on a highway. Traffic is vicious, and the cars will knock you right over."

"I do it because I dig the exercise," said Mai, adjusting the seat of her bike to a comfortable level. "If I need to travel someplace far away, there's always the trolley or the bus."

"Hey, Natsuki," said Takumi. "Do you think you could let me ride on that motorcycle of yours one day?"

Natsuki stared at Takumi for a few seconds. She had already let his sister ride with her on one trip, but he wasn't quite as physically fit as Mai, so he would likely have trouble hanging on at high speeds. "Maybe," she said. "You'll have to ask your sister."

Takumi hugged Mai from behind and stared at her with his eyes wide open. "Come on, sis! Please?"

"I don't know why you'd want to do something like that, but...be my guest," said Mai. "Just remember to hang on tightly at all times, okay?"

"Of course I will, Mai. I'm not _that_ crazy."

Mai and Takumi came together for a quick hug, and then returned down the bike path from which they came. "I'll race you back to the dorm!"

"Oh, sure, _you_ ride the bicycle while poor little Takumi goes back on foot and gets left in the dust, huh? Not this time!"

Takumi pushed Mai out of the way and sat on the bike himself, using his newfound stamina to pedal as fast as he could down the bike path. Mai chased after her younger brother, admonishing him as she tried to keep pace.

Natsuki looked on with mild amusement as the two siblings faded into the distance. _Look at those two,_ she thought. _They're both so happy and carefree. That must be what it's like to have a close familial connection. They bicker and fight sometimes, but she still stays by his side. She must really love him... It's been a while since I've been able to experience something like that. I wonder...would she be willing to share some of that warmth with...me? Maybe it's time I stopped fooling around and tell her how I really feel._

She looked down at the chains binding her motorcycle and tried to remove them by hand. The weight of the chains coupled with the number of coils around the bike rack made it hard for her to get her vehicle free. "Guess I overdid it a little bit," she said to herself.


	9. Rude Awakening

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Wow...this is my longest chapter so far, but that's not really saying much, as I've only broken 2000 words here. Of course, I'm doubly-thrilled, since I'm uploading this particular chapter on my 27th birthday, so this is sort of a present to myself that I'm proud to share with all y'all._

_Anyway, Mai-HiME still belongs to Sunrise and the people who work there. I wouldn't be writing "fan fiction" for it if I weren't just a "fan", now would I?_

* * *

**Day 9 - Rude Awakening**  
Theme #21 - Violence/plunder/extortion

Another school day had gone by, and neither Mai nor Natsuki could believe it was already ten o'clock. The constant note-taking and sitting through hours of seemingly endless lectures had drained them both mentally and physically. The only thing they felt like doing was fall asleep and forget about the harrowing day. Mikoto had beaten them to it, having crashed out a half-hour before either of them.

A shadowy creature materialized in the room as the girls slept, taking on the form of a black stingray. The creature let out a low-pitched humming noise as it floated through the air. Natsuki picked up on the sound and sat up with one eye open and her magical gun drawn, hoping to locate the monster before it could do any harm. The creature floated over Mai's bed and readied its poison barb, preparing for a swift kill. Natsuki aimed her gun at the golden eyes floating above Mai's bed, firing off a single shot and eliminating the beast. The blast awoke Mai and Mikoto from their peaceful slumber. "W-what's going on?" asked Mikoto.

"Natsuki! What the hell are you doing?" asked Mai, staring directly into the barrel of Natsuki's gun. "I was _trying_ to get a little sleep! You can't just go around shooting things in an enclosed space like this."

"There was a small Orphan floating above your bed," said Natsuki. "If I had left it alone, you'd be doing more than 'a little sleep'."

"At least that way, I'd be able to get some peace and quiet."

"Mai, you're missing the point! That creature just tried to kill you. There could be more of those things around here, and that means the rest of this dorm is in danger."

Natsuki turned on the lamp next to her bed and changed from her pajamas into her battle gear. "We need to get everybody outside so that we can fight these things safely."

Mai and Mikoto changed back into their school clothes as well, albeit very slowly. They drew their weapons and followed Natsuki into the hallway. She fired a few shots into the air to get everybody else's attention, and a horde of girls came running out of their bedrooms still wearing their pajamas. "All right, everyone! Listen up!" she said. "We've got an Orphan infestation on our hands. I don't know how they found us, but there seem to be a bunch of them. All available HiME should stay with me and fight. Everyone else, find an exit and get out of here as fast as you can."

Akane and Shizuru quickly rushed to Natsuki's side with their weapons at the ready. "What's going on, Kuga-san?" asked Akane. "I was just about to go to sleep, and then this...thing tried to attack me."

"Shouldn't we worry about the girls on the upper level, Natsuki?" asked Shizuru. "I don't think they heard your warning."

"Good thinking," said Natsuki. "Mikoto! Akane! Go upstairs and get the other girls out of the building. We should try to lure those creatures away from there so that we can avoid as much structural damage as possible. Mai and Shizuru will remain here and help me take out the enemies on the lower level."

"Understood," said Akane.

Mikoto nodded, and both girls ran upstairs as quickly as their legs could take them.

They reached the top level of the girls' dorm in seconds, and were immediately swarmed by a horde of girls scrambling to escape from the shadowy stingrays. Akane blocked one Orphan's attack and hit another coming at her from behind with her tonfa. Mikoto slashed through a group of Orphans with her sword, leaving an enormous trail of sparks in her wake. The two girls tried as hard as they could to fight off the enemies, but with every wave they destroyed, another swept in just as quickly. "Where are all of these things coming from?" asked Mikoto.

"I don't know," said Akane. She charged forward and checked the doors to search for survivors. Most of the rooms had been cleared out, but were left in a mess, as many of the girls left in a panic before getting a chance to clean up.

A little further down the hall, she saw one figure stumbling about in the darkness, and another directly behind her, swinging a stick toward another Orphan. "Stay back, fiend!" she shouted. "You won't live to regret the day you messed with Haruka Suzushiro!"

Akane shouted and rushed toward Haruka. "Haruka-chan! You have to get out of here!"

"I'm trying," she called back, "but I can't leave Yukino behind like this."

She knelt next to Yukino, who had a large cut running down her left leg. "Don't worry, Yukino," she said. "Everything will be all right. Can you stand up?"

"I think so," said Yukino. "It still hurts to move, though."

Haruka signaled to Mikoto and pointed to a glass case concealing an emergency first-aid kit. "I need to do something to stop the bleeding!" she said.

Mikoto smashed open the case with the hilt of her sword and took the kit over to Haruka. She wrapped a handful of gauze tape around Yukino's leg. It slowed down the bleeding somewhat, but the cloth bandage was quickly soaked in red. "Ugh! It's not working," said Haruka.

"We'll worry about fixing it up later!" shouted Mikoto. "I'll fight off the monsters. You two carry Yukino out of here."

Akane and Haruka picked Yukino up and rested her on their shoulders, and the group hurried downstairs to catch up with Mai's team.

* * *

Mai, Natsuki and Shizuru were in the midst of their own battle. The Orphans came at them in clusters, and only Shizuru's naginata was effective enough to take out the enemy without causing any collateral damage. Natsuki's guns could only hit one or two targets at a time, and Mai was restricted to using her low-level fire magic indoors to avoid igniting anything or anyone. "Isn't there a better way to fend these things off?" Mai asked. 

"I have an idea," said Shizuru. "Follow my lead."

She slowly walked backward toward the front door of the dorm with her weapon held out in front of her to lure the creatures toward them.

"What about Mikoto and the others?" asked Mai. "They haven't returned yet. We can't just abandon them!"

"I'm sure they'll be able to get out safely. Besides, these particular Orphans are only focused on us right now. If we can lure these ones outside, everyone else should be able to reach us unopposed."

"I hope you know what you're doing."

Natsuki and Mai inched toward the exit along with Shizuru, making sure to look behind them every few seconds to avoid a possible ambush. They pushed through the door and scrambled to the open field, where most of the panicked students were gathered. Though the Orphans were far more numerous, they were at a tactical disadvantage, as Mai and the others now had sufficient room to unleash their full power.

"Duran! Attack!"

Natsuki called forth her silver wolf, ordering it to fire upon the Orphan clusters approaching the schoolgirls. The ensuing explosions caused many of the students to run for cover behind whatever they could find on the field--trees, benches, rocks--anything to escape the chaos. Shizuru slashed at the cluster of Orphans that had been following her outside. Several of them exploded and disappeared into the ether, while the few that remained flew just out of reach of her weapon, combining to form a humanoid figure roughly the same height as Shizuru. The creature drew a sword from thin air and lunged toward her. She parried the blow with her weapon and pushed the creature aside, giving her an opportunity to stab it in the back. The hole in its chest healed up within seconds, and it got back up with its sword drawn again. Instead of taking another lunge at Shizuru, it ran away from her and dashed toward Natsuki, who had her attention focused on getting the other survivors to safe spots. "Natsuki! Behind you!" she yelled.

Natsuki and Duran turned around to witness the shadowy swordsman running straight for them. As it wound up for a slash, it was hit by a stream of flames coming at it from the side. The recoil from the flame blast sent Mai flying backwards and knocked her on her rear end, but she slowly got back up and returned to the fight, giving Natsuki a wink and a nod. The creature was stunned, giving Natsuki a perfect chance to end the battle.

"Duran! Load Chrome Cartridge..._Fire!_"

A volley of shells pierced through the night air, ripping through the Orphan's body faster than it could regenerate. "Hit it with everything you've got!" she said. "Quickly!"

Mai picked herself up and flew around the creature, hitting it with another blast from her fire magic, and Shizuru finished it off with a well-placed thrust to the creature's abdomen. The concentration of attacks caused the fiend to dissolve and disappear. "Do you think that's the last of them?" she said.

Mai lowered herself to the ground and bent down on one knee. "I certainly hope so," she said. "That was exhausting."

"I agree. Of all the nights they could have chosen to attack...why pick this one?"

Mikoto ran out of the building, her arms spread wide open and her signature sword placed in a large case on her back. "Mai! You're okay!" she said as she latched tightly onto Mai.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay, too," said Mai. "Where's Akane-chan?"

"She's still inside. We found Yukino in there, but she's hurt pretty badly. Haruka's in there with them."

"It's too bad the nurse is asleep right now. She might be able to help out some of these kids." Mai stretched and yawned as loudly as she could. "Guess we ought to try and get some sleep now, huh?"

Mikoto and Natsuki both yawned simultaneously. "Good idea," said Mikoto.

Natsuki scanned the perimeter one more time to check for any extraneous Orphans. When she was satisfied, she called out to everyone in the crowd. "All clear," she said. "You can go back to your rooms now."

The students slowly crawled out from their hiding places, relieved to know that everything was safe. Their rooms were messy, but at least they would be able to get half a good night's sleep.

Shizuru walked over to Natsuki and gave her a hug. "I always knew you were strong, Natsuki," she said. "I'm glad I could be of some help to you tonight."

"Thanks," said Natsuki.

"I'm going to see how Yukino's doing, and then I'm going to go to my room. Natsuki... Mikoto-kun... Mai-han...you girls take care of yourselves, okay?"

"We will," said Mai. "Good night, Shizuru-san."

* * *

The girls returned to their dorms, trying hard to forget about what they had witnessed that night. Mikoto was able to pick up right where she left off, but Mai was unable to sleep, as her mind was still troubled by the battle she had recently fought. 

Natsuki closed the door and put her blue pajamas back on, and then sat down next to Mai on her bed. "Something on your mind?" she asked.

Mai wrapped her arm around her blue-haired roommate and rested her head on the girl's shoulder. "Yeah," she said, her voice trembling with sadness. "I can't believe I almost died tonight. If you hadn't fired that shot..."

"I only did what I had to do," said Natsuki. "You still have a mission to fulfill, don't you? To protect your brother?"

"Yes. I promised my mother that I'd watch over Takumi. If I died before he graduated from here, I'd never be able to face her." She lifted her head and stared into Natsuki's eyes, confident that the face that had previously given her trouble was now providing comfort. "Thanks to you...I'll be able to live another day to keep that promise."

"I believe I owe you one, as well. If you and Shizuru hadn't stopped that monster, I'd be dead myself. You've become a very skilled fighter in your short time here, Mai...and a valuable friend. As long as I can still fight, I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you."

"Thank you, Natsuki. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Mai guided Natsuki closer to her, using her other hand to brush the hair out of her eyes. Without hesitation, the two girls kissed, ignoring the murmurs of the girls in the hallway, or their own rapidly beating hearts. Natsuki felt Mai's body fall limp into her arms, so she sat both of them upright and whispered softly into Mai's ear. "Mai...I love you..."

Mai wasn't sure how to respond. She was too busy thinking about how she just shared her first _real_ kiss--this time she was actually paying attention--with Natsuki. On top of that, she heard her roommate tell her something she never expected to hear from another girl her age. It was a moment she planned to re-live over and over in her head for quite some time.

"Is...that a problem?" asked Natsuki.

"No, not at all," said Mai. "I was just wondering how long it would take you to admit it."

"You mean you knew all along?!"

"Shh! Keep it down! Let's just say...I had a hunch."

"Oh. Well, I wanted to wait for a chance to ask you if you felt the same way. Do you?"

This time, Mai's response came almost immediately. "Yes. Anyone who would risk their life for me like that will always be worthy of my affection. I love you, Natsuki...don't ever forget that."

They embraced again, and came together for another passionate kiss before happily falling asleep in each other's arms.


	10. A Dime A Dozen

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Can you believe it? I've made it to a tenth chapter of this story. Thanks again to everyone who's stuck with it so far. Mai and Natsuki are a bit on edge after last night's attack, and that means things are about to change...but what exactly is it that is planned for them?_

_The copyright notice of this fic stays pretty much the same, though. Mai-HiME still belongs to Bandai and Sunrise, and I'm still writing this for the fun of it. _

* * *

**Day 10 - A Dime a Dozen**  
Theme #10: Ten_  
_

_She wants to meet with us _now?!

Mai panicked. She didn't expect school director Mashiro Kazahana to meet with her at nine o'clock in the morning. There was barely enough time for her to sleep after last night's Orphan attack, even with Natsuki at her side to comfort her. She learned about the emergency meeting by text message from Akane just a few minutes after she had woken up: "Mashiro-sama wants us to meet at her mansion. Bring Kuga-san and Mikoto-kun, too."

_Great. Now I'm going to miss my morning classes again. This is _not_ how I wanted to start my day._

She looked over at Natsuki, who was sprawled out on _her_ bed, still sleeping peacefully. Mai figured she would use a new method to awaken her blue-haired princess. She crawled over to Natsuki's side and kissed her full on the lips, and then whispered, "Good morning, Natsuki. It's time to get up."

Natsuki was slow to rise from the bed, as she was still fighting fatigue from last night. "What time is it?" she said, rubbing her eyes until she could see clearly.

"I think it's eight-thirty," said Mai.

"Damn. That means I'm already late for my art class."

"I say don't even bother with it; you're going to miss it anyway. Besides, we have a meeting with the director at nine."

"Are you serious?"

"Yup. Got the messasge from Akane a little while ago. Don't know what she wants, but if we don't show up, we'll never hear the end of it."

"Fine...I'll get dressed right away."

While Natsuki went to change her clothes, Mai walked over to Mikoto's bed to try to awaken her. Mikoto found it much easier to sleep under pressure than the other two girls. Mai tried the same whisper-in-the-ear method she used on Natsuki, but Mikoto continued to lay there, curled up comfortably in a ball. "Come on, Mikoto! You have to get up!" said Mai, now tugging on the blanket that kept Mikoto warm.

"I'm still tired!" said Mikoto, fighting back with as much effort as possible.

"I'll get you some strawberry shortcake later on if you're good."

Mikoto listened to Mai's offer, and decided to get up from her bed. "Okay," she said. "Where are we going?"

"To Mashiro's place. Come on...Let's go change into our good clothes and get out of here."

Mikoto and Mai took turns using the bathroom to freshen up and put on their school uniforms. Mikoto was anxious to get back to her resting place and have a slice of the cake promised to her, so she calmly walked out the door ahead of Mai and Natsuki, rather than jumping out the window when she had to go somewhere in a hurry. Mai fastened the top button of her shirt and headed toward the front door, where Natsuki stood with her back against the wall. "Are you ready?" she said.

"I've been ready," said Natsuki. "I was waiting for you to finish up."

"You didn't have to do that. I'm a pretty fast runner, you know, so you could have gone on ahead of me."

"Come on, Mai. When was the last time that you and I took a walk together?"

"I see your point," said Mai. "Let's go."

* * *

When Natsuki used to walk by herself, she drew the attention of almost every boy and girl on campus on the rare occasions when she chose to show up for class. The students' stares were fixated even more heavily on her now that she was walking hand-in-hand with Mai on their way to the director's mansion. Seeing them together brought out mixed reactions from the crowd, ranging from "Is that red-headed chick her girlfriend?" to "Weren't they fighting each other just a few weeks ago?" None of them knew that the two girls _had_ actually kissed each other, leading all of their chatter to simply be conjecture for the time being. 

Mai was accustomed to being the "talk of the town" ever since her wild entry into Fuuka Academy, but had trouble getting used to everyone staring at her. She tried not to stare back at them, but instead kept her eyes on the road ahead, and her hand tightly wrapped around Natsuki's. They eventually reached the front door of Mashiro's elegant Western-style housing complex, which looked large enough to take up its own city block. Mai stepped forward and pressed a button on the side of the front door. "Who is it?" chirped a voice from the other side of the door.

"It's me, Mai. I came over, just like you asked. Natsuki's here with me, too."

"Oh...good, good. Please come in."

The door opened slowly, and the beaming face of Fumi Himeno greeted them as they entered. "Good morning," she said cheerfully. "You're just in time. The meeting is about to start. Right this way, please."

She led Mai and Natsuki into a spacious central room, where Mashiro and several other girls were seated in a circle around a table. Mikoto slid over a few inches to the right and waved the girls over. "I saved a seat for you right here, Mai!" she said.

"Thanks."

They sat down between Mikoto and Midori, separating their hands to avoid hearing further gossip from their current circle. "They called you over here too, Midori-sensei?" asked Mai.

"Yeah, but what can you do?" Midori replied nonchalantly. "I tried asking for a substitute teacher to fill in for my morning history class, but no one wanted to show up, so I canceled it."

"That ought to make a few students happy," said Natsuki.

Fumi took her place behind Mashiro's wheelchair and took a head count of everyone in attendance. "Hmm...I see only ten of you here, but weren't there supposed to be twelve?"

"Yes," said Mashiro. "It appears that Munakata-san and Kikukawa-san are still not accounted for."

"Shiho isn't coming," said Nao Yuuki, ready to fall asleep while still sitting up. "She said something about going to check on that Tate kid, and hasn't returned since seven."

"I see. And what of Kikukawa-san?"

"Yukino's still recovering from her injuries," said Shizuru. "She told me to apologize on her behalf for being unable to show up. The nurse says that it's nothing serious, and she should be up and about by tomorrow."

"Very well," said Mashiro. "Let us get to the matter at hand, shall we?"

Mashiro pointed to a bureau near one of the large windows, and Fumi opened the top drawer to retrieve a slip of paper. "In light of last night's surprise Orphan attack," she said, "it is apparent that we will need to change our patrolling strategy to prevent incidents like this from happening again. Now, I know that we will be unable to keep the campus secure at all times, but it is essential that we stay on guard when the Orphans are most likely to attack. From this point on, we will go on a rotating schedule, with teams of two HiME patrolling the campus after five o'clock in the afternoon."

"Won't this affect our homework and studies?" asked Akane.

"Do not worry. I have discussed this matter with some of the faculty members, and they have agreed not to schedule tests on the days when you conduct your patrols."

Mashiro read a list of names from the paper in her hand, dividing the patrol duties among the ten HiME in attendance. Mondays were given to Akane and Midori. They already had partnership experience as waitresses, so they were both happy to be assigned to one another. Tuedays were assigned to Mikoto and Akira Okuzaki. Though Mikoto and Akira were in the same class, they rarely ever spoke to one another. Akira looked at Mikoto once and turned away, folding her arms over her chest. The Wednesday patrol paired Shizuru with Nao. Shizuru was excited about the prospect of working with a partner, but Nao disagreed. "This whole idea is stupid," she said. "I do my best work alone."

"Come on, Yuuki-kun," said Shizuru. "It can't be that bad."

"You _would_ say that, wouldn't you?"

"I promise I'll be a good girl. You won't get any funny business from me, okay?"

Nao sighed. "Whatever. Just don't get in my way, and I won't hurt you."

Thursday's patrol had Alyssa Searrs teamed up with chapel maiden Yukariko Sanada, a decision that turned quite a few heads. Yukariko had allegedly sworn an oath of non-violence upon her admission into the clergy, while Alyssa was still young and seemed incapable of defending herself. "Does she know something about those two that we don't?" asked Mai.

"Don't look at me," said Natsuki. "I'm not the headmaster."

Mikoto simply shrugged.

When Mashiro announced the final pairing for Friday, the room fell silent for a few seconds. Mai couldn't resist giggling to herself, as it was obvious to everyone which two HiME would be selected last. "Keep it down!" said Natsuki, gently poking Mai in the ribs.

"Sorry," said Mai. "I'm just excited that you and I will be working together." She smiled at Natsuki and grabbed her hand again.

"What about the other two?" asked Akira. "Are they going to have to take the Saturday shift?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said Fumi. "Someone has to. Sundays, on the other hand, are free for all of you to relax."

Half of the girls sighed in unison.

"I'll relay the message to Shiho the next time I see her," said Akira.

"I would also like to thank those of you who assisted in last night's defensive efforts," said Mashiro. "I know it was sudden, but you all did a decent job protecting the lives of the students. Rest assured that when you return to your rooms later today, most of the damage caused by the Orphans will be repaired. Please do not forget your scheduled patrol days. The security of Fuuka Academy rest in your capable hands. You are dismissed."

Everyone got up from their seats and left Mashiro's office to return to their respective classes. Mai, Natsuki and Mikoto headed out the door together and stopped to rest at the nearby water fountain. "That meeting was boring," said Mikoto. "I would have been better off going to class. By the way, Mai...are you still going to get that cake for us later? Huh?"

"Of course," said Mai. "I'll bring some home this afternoon."

"Great! Thanks!" Mikoto gave Mai a great big hug, and then ran off into the distance on her hands and feet. "See ya!"

Natsuki turned toward the fountain and washed her face with its cool water. "I'll never understand for the life of me why she does that," she said.

"Me, neither." Mai dipped her hands in the fountain to take a sip of the water herself. "Anyway, I should probably get going. My chemistry class starts in a few minutes. Do you want to have lunch with me later today?"

"Sounds like a good plan."

"Excellent. I'll see you then."

Mai gave Natsuki a quick hug, but refrained from pressing too hard, as her hands were still slightly damp and she didn't want to get Natsuki's uniform wet. Natsuki pressed her own wet lips against Mai's forehead, not concerned very much about whether anyone was secretly watching from the bushes. The students had already seen the two of them walking together, so they would likely continue to ask questions whether or not anything actually happened between them after coming out of Mashiro's place. Regardless, Natsuki and Mai left the fountain area with smiles on their faces, looking forward to their first day on self-governed patrol.


	11. The Winning Team

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: No, I can't have Mai-HiME...not mine. That won't stop me from writing this story, though. _

_Anyways, here's another Natsuki-centric chapter, since most of the others are mostly from Mai's point of view. I was wondering whether or not I should have named a specific game for what she and Shizuru were playing, but in the spirit of avoiding anachronisms (unlike the plausible example in Chapter 6), I decided to leave it out. _

* * *

**Day 11 - The Winning Team**  
Theme #26 - If only I could make you mine

Natsuki grumbled as she threw her controller down in disgust. The smile on Shizuru's face and the score on the television screen told the tale all too well--Natsuki was losing badly at a fighting game she professed to know inside and out. Next time, she vowed to spend more time practicing in anticipation of another challenge from the student council president.

"Damn! How could you have beaten me four times in a row?" she asked. "You told me you never even played this game before."

In a rare show of confidence, Shizuru ran a hand through her blond locks and flipped them to the side. "That's not true," she said. "I said I never had enough _time_ to play this game before. You know that student council business eats into all of my free time. When I'm alone on Sundays, I play for an hour a day before my tea break."

"Funny...you don't seem like the kind of girl who'd be into video games."

Shizuru pursed her lips and winked toward Natsuki as she made her next selection. "Well, after a day of hard work, you have to find something to do to relieve the stress. It beats fighting monsters, that's for sure."

"That's true." Natsuki picked up her controller and selected her character to get the match under way. "Say, what happened last night between you and Yuuki, anyway?"

"We didn't find anything...at least I didn't," said Shizuru. "Nao wouldn't tell me what she saw. She had her claws out as if she were about to attack something, but she didn't do anything with them. She wouldn't say a word to me after the patrol was over, no matter how many times I tried."

"Maybe she _did_ see something, and she's hiding it from you on purpose."

"Do you really think that's the case?" Shizuru's voice trembled a bit, and her controller motions became erratic. Natsuki capitalized on it by hitting her back with a flurry of quick kicks to secure her first victory of the day. "I want Nao to trust me as a partner, but she's not making it easy for either of us. Am I doing something wrong?"

"It's not your fault," said Natsuki. "It's only your first day working with her. I'm sure she'll come around after a few weeks."

"Do you think I should talk to her during school...about something other than monsters?"

"You could try that, if she'll let you get close enough to her."

"Hmm..."

Shizuru had other things that she wanted to say, but the noise from the television screen prevented her from getting her thoughts out. She tried to regain her composure so that she could make short work of Natsuki and turn off her game console. Her day would end with a five-to-one victory, the first time she would admit to challenging her friend at anything.

"Why'd you stop?" asked Natsuki. "I was just about to get my second wind."

"Yesterday's meeting, and the Orphan attack we had the other night...well, they got me thinking."

"Yeah? About what?"

"I've been told that chemistry is important to keep a team strong. That night, out on the battlefield, I thought I could sense a little bit of chemistry building between us."

"You don't say..."

"I was hoping that the director would put the two of us on patrol duty together. That way, we could learn from each other and develop our own style."

Natsuki thought she could see a gleam in Shizuru's eyes, but she waved it off as merely a trick from the light. "Are you sure that's _all_ you were after?"

"Absolutely. You have my word." Shizuru moved her chair a few inches closer to Natsuki, just barely enough to avoid touching. "The truth is, Natsuki...I've been looking forward to meeting you ever since last year, and I'm glad that you've given me a chance to get to know you. But..."

_There's a "but" to this story?_, Natsuki thought. _This can't be good._

"It wasn't until this year that I decided that I wanted to...make something more out of it, if you know what I mean."

"Oh," Natsuki said through a blush.

"On the other hand, I see that you've been hanging out with Mai a lot lately. You two seem to have a pretty tight friendship going on. I was surprised myself when I heard the rumors."

Natsuki's face turned blue with shock. _Oh, great...even Shizuru knows about me and Mai. I was right...this _was_ a bad idea._

"Yeah," said Natsuki, trying to keep up a happy face in front of Shizuru. "You know how those Fuuka girls like to gossip. You can't believe everything you hear, you know."

"Oh, I understand completely," Shizuru replied. "Then again, I wonder how much of what they're saying is the truth..."

Natsuki paused to think for a moment. An incorrect answer to Shizuru's question would only prove to make things worse for her. "Okay, maybe just a _teensy_ bit."

"I see. So does that mean you and Mai really have done the--?"

"No! No! It's not like that at all, I swear," Natsuki interrupted, knowing exactly how that sentence was going to end. "Me and Tokiha are close friends. Really, _really_ close friends, but not in that sense."

Shizuru placed a warm hand on Natsuki's shoulder. "Relax, Natsuki. I'm not going to bite your head off. As long as you don't hurt each other, what you do with your friends is your business...but I won't stop you if you decide you want to share some of the juicier details."

"Yeah...I think I'll pass on that, if you don't mind. Anyway, I need to get going."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?"

"I'd like to, but it's almost time for me to eat dinner."

"Very well, then. Just remember that you and your friends are welcome to come over at any time you want."

Shizuru approached Natsuki slowly. Her first instinct was to give Natsuki a small peck on the cheek, but feared that she might have been moving too quickly, given the circumstances she found herself in. Instead, she simply reached out for a hug and rested her head on Natsuki's shoulder for a few seconds, saying, "I'll see you later."

When Natsuki returned to her bedroom, Mai greeted her with a smile on her face and a warm bowl of rice in her hand. Dinner was under way, and Mai went to the table to set out bowls for her two roommates to eat.

"So, Natsuki," said Mai, "how did your little outing with Fujino go, huh?"

"It was...okay, I guess," said Natsuki.

"Oh, I get it...she pasted you good, and now you're embarrassed to tell us," said Mikoto, diving into her bowl with her chopsticks and eating ravenously.

"Hey! I won one game against her. She...just got lucky, that's all. I could still beat you two!"

"Wanna put a friendly wager on it?" asked Mai.

Natsuki waved her chopsticks in the air defiantly. "No."


	12. Sitting in a Tree

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Mai-HiME is still not mine, and I'm still not finished writing this danged thing yet._

_This particular chapter makes use of two "g" words - "girlfriend" and "gymnastics". For some reason, I was partially inspired to write this one after listening to Billy Idol's "Catch My Fall". I simply thought it would make a great motif...well, that and the whole sunset thing._

* * *

**Day 12 - Sitting in a Tree**  
Theme #22 - Cradle

Mai had very little luck finding anything on her first official patrol tour under Mashiro's new schedule. This time around, she didn't have to worry about Haruka watching over her, but she still felt bored all the same. After scanning the western side of the campus twice for stray Orphans, she decided to return to the water fountain near Mashiro's place to wait for Natsuki. "This isn't working!" she said to herself. "Those...things aren't just going to come out if we go after them. Those bastards are sneaky. I just wish I knew what to use as bait so I could lure these things out, and we could fight, and then we could go home."

Just as she was about to sit down, Natsuki came by the fountain to sit down next to her. An unmistakable expression of annoyance crossed her face, refusing to fade even as Mai moved in to give her a hug. "What's wrong?" Mai asked.

"I wanted to take some time off to relax," said Natsuki. "since it's Friday and all. Having to walk around the school hunting for Orphans is putting me on edge. I feel that if I don't do something worthwhile in the next ten minutes or so, I might just lose it."

"So, I take it you didn't find anything, either?"

"Nope."

Mai extended her hand toward Natsuki. "I have an idea! Want to take a look around together?"

"Hmm? Why do you want to do that?"

"We've already looked around this place separately and found nothing, but that doesn't mean there aren't still any Orphans out here. If we continue to go out by ourselves, and one of us should come across a handful of the little monsters, we might not be able to get rid of them fast enough. At least if we went together, we'd be able to watch each other's backs in case something _did_ sneak up on us."

"I'm quite capable of defending myself, but...your idea works just as well." Natsuki clutched onto Mai's hand, squeezing as tightly as possible. "Come on...let's go."

Mai and Natsuki got up from the fountain, walking along the brick road to admire the scenery, occasionally checking the bushes for potential targets. The surrounding area was relatively quiet, with only a few couples walking around and enjoying the spring weather. Unlike the scene a few days ago, nobody was paying attention to the two girls this time. Mai looked upward, shielding her eyes with her free hand to get a good look at the orange-and-pink-tinted sky. "Don't you think the sunset looks beautiful tonight, Natsuki?" she asked.

"Mai, what are you doing?" Natsuki jerked Mai's hand to get her to pay attention to the road ahead. "We're supposed to be looking for Orphans, remember?"

"I know, I know. It just looks so peaceful out there. I wish I could get a better view of the sunset from down here, though."

A quiet rustling was barely audible in the tree nearby.

"Did you hear that?" asked Natsuki.

"Hear what?"

The rustling got progressively louder. Natsuki drew her gun and aimed it toward the top of the tree. "Over there!" she said.

"Yeah...I think I see it now."

Mai ran toward the tree in an attempt to flush out the creature for Natsuki to attack. Grabbing the sides of the trunk and gripping as tightly as possible, she climbed it very slowly, looking around for anything out of the ordinary. Directly above her was a small, green reptilian monster. The creature hissed and stuck its forked tongue out at Mai as they met face-to-face. Mai was unable to retaliate against it in her current position, as letting go of the tree to take a swing at it would cause her to fall, and using her fire magic threatened to set the whole tree ablaze. She jumped down from the tree and ran away, luring the agile lizard Orphan toward her and into the path of one of Natsuki's gun blasts.

"What were you afraid of?" asked Natsuki. "That little thing was harmless."

Mai trampled the writhing lizard underfoot until it disappeared, covering the bottom of her shoe with a sticky green goo. "I wasn't afraid!" she said. "I could have killed that thing if I wanted to. I just couldn't do it from where I was on the tree, that's all."

"All right, Mai, I believe you," Natsuki said sarcastically.

"No, really! I'll prove it. I'll climb up the tree again and root out another one."

Mai ran to the tree again, this time climbing up until she was high enough to reach a thick branch. She inched outward until she could comfortably sit on it, but nearly fell off as she was distracted by a nearby voice.

"The young princess still loves to climb trees. Interesting..."

She quickly tilted her head to the right to see a white-haired boy comfortably perched on a branch just below hers, reading from an unmarked book. "So it _is_ true what the say...some old habits just refuse to die."

"What the hell are you doing here, Nagi?" asked Mai. "And what was that lizard-like thing that crawled out from this tree earlier?"

The young boy got up on his feet, balancing himself on the branch with what seemed like no effort at all. Mai struggled to get herself back upright, wondering how he could have made it look so easy. "I wouldn't know," said Nagi. "I'm simply out here enjoying the weather. I understand that you decided to enjoy the scenery with a certain blue-haired friend of yours."

"Yeah...I'm taking a walk with Natsuki. So?"

"Ah, yes, Natsuki Kuga...so beautiful, yet so hard to approach. I certainly wasn't counting on you to get as close to her as you did."

"And why is that? Do _you_ have the hots for her, too?"

Nagi simply laughed. "Me? As much as I'd like to be in your shoes, I have more important things to worry about than romance."

"Like what?"

"Sorry...that's a personal secret."

Natsuki got impatient waiting for Mai to come down from the tree, so she came around to search for her from the safety of the ground. "Did you find anything yet?" she called.

"Nope...sorry!" Mai called back.

Nagi, sensing Natsuki's presence nearby, closed his book and saluted toward Mai. "Well, it looks like this tree's getting kinda crowded," he said with a smirk. "I'll leave you two alone for now. See you later, Mai..."

He tucked his book under one arm and turned around to reach for another branch, leaping off into the distance and swinging from branch to branch until he was safely out of the girls' field of vision. _What a weird kid,_ Mai thought.

"Are you gonna come down from there, or what?" Natsuki shouted.

"Yeah," said Mai. "Just a sec."

Mai grabbed hold of the branch and dangled from it for a few seconds, waiting for Natsuki to come underneath her. She loosened her grip and descended into her girlfriend's arms, barely touching the ground as she landed. "Thanks for the save," she said, wrapping her arms around Natsuki's shoulders as she tried to stand upright again.

"Just what were you doing up there, anyway?" asked Natsuki. "I heard you talking to someone. Who was it?"

"Nagi."

"Him? Why would he be all the way out here? I'll bet he's up to something."

"Who cares? He's gone now." Mai walked over to the tree from which she had just descended, and leaned her back against the rough bark. She beckoned Natsuki to sit next to her on a patch of dry grass. "Let's rest for a little while. I think we've earned it...don't you?"

Natsuki obliged. "All right...we'll rest for three minutes, and then we have to go back to work."

"That's all I get?"

"That's all you get...for now."

Natsuki lifted Mai's chin with one finger to get a good look at her face. Just seeing that smile and those playful purplish eyes let her know that her friend was okay, and she was as happy with that as anything. She cradled Mai in her arm and pulled her close, not daring to let go until it was time for them to move out again. Quietly, she ran a pair of fingers through Mai's hair and brought their faces together for a series of soft, wet kisses, only occasionally breaking her gaze to admire the setting sun. "If you want more than three minutes later on," Natsuki said with a smile of her own, "you'll have to work harder for it."


	13. Subliminality

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes: The characters in Mai-HiME don't belong to me, but the absurd events contained within this story, on the other hand, do...kinda._

_Natsuki doesn't appear in this chapter, but she is mentioned. I'm pretty sure she'd have something to say about the events in this chapter...if she weren't in class._

* * *

**Day 13 - Subliminality**  
Theme #9 - Dash

Dots and dashes...dashes and dots.

Mai had no idea what it meant, for all she could hear was a series of blips and beeps...some short, some long. They could periodically be heard over the PA system whenever a teacher or the headmaster needed to make an announcement, but the sequence was the same every time. The messages evoked laughter from a few small pockets of the student body, as well as a few loose cries of "aww" here and there. Mai was especially confused when a few of the other girls went "aww" when they saw her in the hallway walking by herself. She walked to her locker and turned to one of her classmates, Chie Harada, in search of an answer. "What's everyone so giggly about, Chie-chan?" she asked. "Did the headmaster say something funny?"

"No," said Chie. "I'm sure if she did, the whole school would die of laughter, and not just a few students."

"I don't get it, either. It's weird."

After retrieving her book bag from the locker, she saw Miyu standing on the other side of her as she closed the locker door, giving her a bit of a shock. "How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Long enough for you to miss the point completely," Miyu retorted.

"So you know what's going on with the students, then?"

"I don't speak with the students very often. My only concern is the welfare of young Alyssa." She stuffed a bag into her own locker and closed it, turning toward Mai and Chie. "However, I have noticed a few eccentricities in their behavior during the broadcasts from the headmaster. I suspect that someone is using a form of hidden messaging."

A few seconds later, another announcement was made, this time by Mashiro's secretary, Fumi. "Takumi Tokiha...please report to the infirmary. I repeat: Takumi Tokiha, please report to the infirmary. Thank you."

The laughter started up again, much to Mai's annoyance. "That's not funny!" she said. "He's probably just going to get his medicine refilled."

Miyu was the only other person in the hallway who refused to laugh. "You're jumping to conclusions again, Mai Tokiha," she said. "I told you, there are subliminal messages in these broadcasts. It sounds like Morse code."

"'Mores' what?" said Chie. "I don't get it."

"No, it's called 'Morse code'. It's a form of radio communication that's practically as old as this institution. Here...I'll play the message back one more time."

"You can do that?"

"I can do a lot of things. Observe."

Miyu pressed a button on her wrist, revealing a miniature speaker embedded in her forearm. She pressed another button and replayed the message from a few seconds ago, isolating the actual message from the series of blips and beeps to make the previously "hidden" message loud and clear. Clear, but still not completely understandable to Mai or Chie. "Where's the message?" asked Mai. "All I hear is a bunch of disjointed beeping."

"That's because the message isn't translatable in Japanese. Anyone with a basic grasp of English and radio communications should be able to decode it."

"Do you understand what it says, Miyu?"

"Actually, I do. The message plainly reads, 'M-A-I L-O-V-E-S N-A-T-S-U-K-I'."

"Can't get much clearer than that," said Chie. She started to giggle a little bit, not out of amusement at Mai's slowly reddening face, but at the fact that someone would be bold enough to sneak a message like that into public broadcasts without anyone's knowledge...or that anyone would understand it.

Mai slammed her fist into the locker, sending a ripple of pain through her hand that she was unable to sense until a few seconds after the fact. "I want to know who's responsible for this!" she shouted as she stormed off to the executive committee's chamber. Chie stood by and shrugged, while Miyu shook her head and walked in the opposite direction.

* * *

Haruka sat at the front desk of the executive committee room laughing to herself, while Yukino walked in with her laptop computer, ready to conduct official business. "Um, Haruka-chan?" she asked.

Haruka stopped laughing for a few minutes to catch her breath. "Oh, I'm sorry, Yukino," she said. "It's just too funny _not_ to laugh. Seriously, _those_ two? They couldn't be any more different than the sun and the moon! I know opposites detract and all, but..."

"I think the phrase you're looking for is 'opposites _attract_'."

"Right. That's what I said, 'attract'."

Yukino shook her head, pushing her glasses back onto her face. "Oh, Haruka...let's just get to work now, okay?"

Mai pushed her way into the room shortly after Yukino sat down, slamming the door into the wall next to her. "Suzushiro!" she said. "I need to talk to you."

Haruka, predictably, was irritated by Mai's lack of manners. "Try knocking next time before you ask for our business, Tokiha," she said. "We were just about to start our meeting. What is it that you want?"

"I want to know who's screwing with the PA system. Somebody's been putting Morris...Morning...er, whatever...messages in the broadcasts and making everybody laugh. It's so annoying."

"You mean Morse code?" asked Yukino.

"Uh, yeah. You know about this stuff?"

"Of course I do. That's because, um..." Yukino bowed her head and shielded her face behind her computer.

"Because what? Come on, tell me!"

"Well...I..." Yukino's speech became softer and more stilted than usual. "It was me."

"Yukino!" said Mai. "Why'd you go and do that? Did you even think about how embarrassed I would be?"

"I'm sorry, Mai-san. I was just following orders. It was Haruka who--"

Mai turned her attention toward Haruka, and the two girls exchanged stares of anger. "I'm surprised and ashamed you'd do something like this, Haruka," said Mai, "the way you like to go on and on about 'justice' and 'decency'. And on top of that, you used Yukino in your little scheme! You're no better than the rest of us."

"Oh, come on, Tokiha," said Haruka, "it was just a harmless prank. Everybody should be allowed to have one. Besides, when I first heard about it from a friend of mine, it sounded too ridiculous to be real. I didn't think anyone else would believe it."

"Well, I hope you had a good laugh. Now _the whole school_ knows about it!"

"Why are you getting so defensive about this anyway?" Haruka's frown became a half-smile, and her eyes lit up with a childish glee. She had just latched onto something juicy. "Oh, I get it...you actually _are_ attracted to Kuga, aren't you?"

"She _is_ quite popular among the male and female student body," Yukino pointed out.

It was too late. The "secret" was already out in the wild with no way to stop it, leaving Mai no choice but to own up to it. "Yes, it's true," she said with a heavy sigh, "but I was going to tell people when _I_ was ready...and certainly not by using cheesy subliminal messaging tricks."

"If you really do feel that way, Mai-san," said Yukino, "then I don't see much of a problem here."

"Well, I don't think it's fair, and I want you to stop it right now."

"All right," said Haruka, stifling a chuckle. "I've had my fun. Yukino, you can undo the messages, can't you?"

Yukino loaded a program into her computer and started typing rapidly. Neither Haruka nor Mai could see what was going on, and it was hardly likely that either would understand. "I'm already working on it, Haruka-chan."

Haruka turned back to Mai. "Now, if you don't have any further business here, I need to meet with Yukino for a few minutes."

* * *

Mai slowly walked out of the executive committee room with her head tilted down. She tried to hide her face from the other students along her way, but to her surprise, nobody made any comments toward her. _Oh, dear, _she thought._ What's Natsuki going to say when she finds out about this? I hope she doesn't think that _I_ was the one responsible._

She bumped into Chie from behind on her way to the water fountain and quickly apologized.

"So, were you able to identify the culprit of this little joke, Mai?" asked Chie.

"Yeah," said Mai. "You probably wouldn't believe who it was even if I told you."

"I must say, Mai...your stock around campus is sure to go up with this juicy little story."

"Don't remind me."

"Just be glad you're not a celebrity. The Japanese and English-language tabloids would be all over the story in a minute. I can just see the headline now: _Cutie Kisses Kuga, Foils Fuuka Fanboys' Fantasies._"

"International stardom...wonderful. Nobody would shut up about it if it ever reached the tabloids."

Mai took a sip from the water fountain, splashing a little on her face to awaken her from the trance she found herself in. When she turned around to look for Chie, she saw no one standing next to her. "Chie? Where'd you go?"

Mai wanted to block out the noise she heard from the PA system, but the sequence of dashes and dots kept replaying over and over in her head. Now that a handful of people heard the message along with her, she feared that she could no longer fully have Natsuki to herself. She sat with her back to the wall and slid to the floor, wondering about all the questions from the other students that were sure to follow. _Is this...also part of what it's like to be in a relationship?_


	14. Taking Over

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Somewhere, a collection of Sunrise employees is getting very rich off the intellectual property for which I am currently writing fan-fiction. I salute you, writers and animators!_

_Can't believe it took me two weeks to actually write a scene that would give this fic its current "T" rating. Yep...a piece of shameless fanservicey fluff toward the end. At least nobody gets hurt or injured here...and I think Mai and Natsuki would like it that way, yeah?_

* * *

**Day 14 - Taking Over**  
Theme #6 - The space between dream and reality

While just about everyone else on campus chose to spend the day exploring the town, Natsuki decided to stay within the school to complete what little homework she had left. With all the time she spent away from campus early in the year, she was falling behind her class in a few key subjects, and was only recently starting to catch up. Like Mai, Natsuki had been distracted by the recent stealth announcement about their relationship, but she wanted to put it aside for a few moments to concentrate on more important things. As she worked on her homework, Mai revealed what she learned from her meeting with Haruka and Yukino.

"How bothersome," said Natsuki. "You mean to tell me that was their plan? To blast the message to every corner of the school?"

"I don't know if that was their 'plan', really," said Mai, "but apparently it worked."

"Damn!" Natsuki slammed her pencil onto her desk. "I knew I should have told Shizuru to step in and do something, but my hunch about who it was didn't match up. She told me she didn't hear the messages, anyway."

"At this point, I'm not sure whether I should be relieved or disappointed." Mai looked around the classroom she was in, and saw that it was completely empty except for her and Natsuki. Even the markings on the chalkboard had been cleanly erased. "Say, Natsuki...why are we here, anyway? We're not in detention or anything, and it's a Sunday. Won't we get in trouble for hanging out in the classrooms outside of school hours?"

"I need a quiet place to finish my homework," said Natsuki, flipping through a page in her Japanese literature textbook, "and you're the only one I can trust not to bother me."

"I'm glad I can help. I always like to get my homework done on Saturday...that way I don't have to worry about doing it at the last minute."

"Spare me the 'lesson of the day', Mai. I'm almost finished." Natsuki wrote another pair of answers at the bottom of her paper, signed it at the top, and placed it neatly into the textbook as a bookmark. "There. That ought to do it."

"Great!" said Mai. "That means we can go out and enjoy the day. If we hurry, we can get down to the music store before the afternoon rush. They're having a three-for-two sale on all of their old pop CDs. I'm in the mood for some more karaoke singing!"

Before Mai could make her way to the door, Natsuki grabbed onto her arm and pulled her in as tightly as possible. Mai stared back into Natsuki's eyes, astonished by her sudden display of aggressiveness. "Hold on a minute," said Natsuki. "Why are you so quick to run away?"

"You said you were finished your homework," said Mai, "so we don't need to use the classroom anymore."

"Sure, we don't _need_ to use it now, but I don't see why we should let a perfect opportunity like this go to waste."

"Huh? W-what are you saying?"

Natsuki had Mai right where she wanted her. She brought her hand to Mai's waist, slowly moving a pair of fingers underneath her shirt and brushing them in a circle around her lower back. "Didn't you tell me you wanted to spend more time with me without any distractions?" she asked, lowering her voice almost to a whisper. "Well, now's your chance."

It was the first time Mai remembered Natsuki holding her this way. The sensation of another girl's fingers dancing against her flesh felt quite relaxing--cool, yet delicate, almost like her own. In response, she moved her hand up Natsuki's arm and smiled, as if to say "It's okay...karaoke can wait for another day." But before she could form the words, Natsuki pressed their faces together, giving Mai a kiss that was tighter and deeper than any she had previously given.

_It feels so much like a wonderful dream. I don't know if I'll wake up from it, but right now, I don't care. You've been so good to me, Mai Tokiha. Please...stay with me. Stay here, so that I can share my love with you..._

Together, Natsuki and Mai got lost in a torrent of passion. Their hands moved frantically across each other's bodies, and their kisses became more intense with every passing second. While they were focused on each other, they were still well aware of their surroundings, and tried to move around the desks to avoid alerting anybody to their presence with the noise. Natsuki took the lead, guiding Mai toward the chalkboard and out of view of the windows. It would have made quite a show for any passers-by, but they didn't want to spoil the surprise that way for the few who hadn't heard the news. Natsuki wanted to enjoy the wonderful silence with her friend and lover for as long as time would allow. After all, this was _their_ moment, and_theirs_ alone.

Several more minutes passed, and Mai stood upright to break the embrace and brush a handful of stray blue strands of hair from her face. "My goodness!" she said, panting heavily. "I've never seen this side of you before. That's one hell of a way to celebrate finishing your homework."

"Oh, Mai...sometimes you can be so silly," said Natsuki. "You know I only did that for you. You're right, though; we really don't need to hang out here too much longer."

"I was fully expecting someone to walk in on us. Could you imagine how embarrassing _that_ would be?" Mai laughed out loud, trying to brush the chalk off the back of her outfit.

Natsuki laughed along with her, and then reached into her book bag for a comb to fix her hair. "Come on...that sort of thing only happens in sitcoms."

"You're probably right. Let's clean this place up and get out of here before someone finds us for real."


	15. Calming the Beast

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes: Fifteen chapters in the bag, and that means I'm halfway done! Yippee! Also, I think I've finally settled on a concrete summary for this story, so I won't make any more changes after this one...I promise.  
_

_Standard disclaimers and copyright notices still apply. Mai-HiME is a Sunrise publication, and I'm just a dude who follows the action. Enjoy!_

* * *

**Day 15 - Calming the Beast**  
Theme #14 - Radio/cassette player

Another mid-afternoon shift at the Linden Baum started out as a near-disaster for Mai. With Midori and Akane out on their first scheduled patrol, she and Kazuya Kurauchi were the only two waiters from Fuuka who were available to watch over the restaurant. Customer traffic had increased significantly due to an advertisement in yesterday's paper about a "Monday Night Sundae Special" discount. The restaurant patrons became increasingly cantankerous as Mai tried to balance orders and other duties between herself and Kazuya, occasionally messing up and dropping plates on the ground. She wanted to yell and call for others to help, but there were only so many other people available to help wait tables, as some had to stay in the kitchen to actually prepare the food. Defeated, Mai put all of her plates on the counter and threw her head down. "I wish Akane were here," she said.

"You and me both," said Kazuya. "An extra set of hands would be nice for a day like this."

Kazuya took out a broom and dustpan to clean up the fragments of a plate near the cash register. As he swept them up, he heard the cry of a young girl sitting at a table behind him. "Where's my dessert?" she said. "I've waited for fifteen minutes now!"

"Don't worry," he said. "I'll get it to you right away."

"That's what the other girl said five minutes ago!"

"We're trying our hardest. We're a little understaffed at the moment, but rest assured that we'll get your order as soon as possible."

The young girl was unconvinced by Kazuya's pleas to calm down. She turned her attention away from him and to her irate father, who scowled at the pair of young waiters and wrote their names down in a notepad.

"Don't we have anything that we can use to get these folks to calm down a bit?" asked Mai. "We could wheel out a television, or play some soothing music while they wait."

"Sorry, Mai," said Kazuya as he brushed away the rest of the plate debris. "We've been trying to repair the radio system for a couple of days, and it still isn't working properly. As for the TV...well, it's seen better days."

The customer chatter slowly grew louder, and even Kazuya's calm demeanor started to crack a little. "Can't _you_ do something, Mai?" he asked.

"I'll try."

Mai rushed back into the kitchen where a few ice cream sundaes were waiting to be delivered. She picked them up and handed a plate to Kazuya, who promptly returned to the table with the young girl and delivered her ice cream, along with one of his best smiles. It wouldn't do anything to excuse his previous tardiness, but she smiled back at him anyway, satisfied that her food got there at all.

Meanwhile, Mai was about to deliver a pair of chocolate sundaes to a well-dressed couple when she heard a shout from the door. "Hey, Tokiha! Can we get some service over here?"

Yuuichi walked into the restaurant, looking around for an open table. He tried to pry his arm away from Shiho Munakata, who had her eyes fixated on him the whole time. "Yuuichi! Look!" said the excitable young girl, pointing to a table near the counter. "That looks like a good spot. We should sit over there, Big Brother!"

"For the last time," Yuuichi said bluntly, "I'm _not_ your brother."

Mai delivered the sundaes, and then turned around to greet the odd couple. "Welcome to the Linden Baum," she said, grinning and nudging Yuuichi with her elbow. "Can I help you two with anything...wink, wink?"

Shiho stared at Mai and shoved her arm out of the way, fearing that she was threatening Yuuichi's personal space. "Hey! No hitting on the customers!" she said, softening her tone considerably after Mai put her elbow down. "Can we get a table and two of your ice cream sundaes, please?"

"All right, all right," Mai huffed. "I wasn't trying to hit on him. Honest."

"Okay...but I've got my eye on you, Mai...so watch it!"

She lead Yuuichi and Shiho to an empty table near the counter. While the two of them sat down, Mai noticed a large boombox in Yuuichi's right hand. "Hey!" she said. "Can I borrow that player for a little while? The customers are starting to get rowdy, and we need some music to help them calm down. I promise to give it back to you when my shift's over."

"Is there something in it for me?" he asked.

"Um...I'll give you a free extra scoop on your sundae, if you want it."

Yuuichi smiled, and handed the boombox over to Mai, along with a few assorted CDs for her to play. "She's all yours."

"Thanks, Tate-kun! You're a life-saver."

Mai took the boombox from him and set it on the counter, loading a jazz CD and turned the volume up. It wasn't loud enough to reach every corner of the diner, but the soothing music helped calm down a good portion of the clientele, to the point where some had stopped shouting at Mai and Kazuya and carried on peaceful conversations with one another. She made a note on paper to add an extra scoop of ice cream to Yuuichi's order and passed it to another employee in the kitchen.

A few more orders came in, and Mai and Kazuya made their deliveries with confidence, rejuvenated by a more sympathetic crowd than they had met minutes ago. Mai perked up even further when she saw Natsuki enter the diner wearing her favorite motorcycle jacket. "Welcome!" she said, waving her over to the table area. "Fancy seeing you here. Can I get you anything?"

"I'm not really hungry. I just came down to see if you needed a ride home from work."

Natsuki walked over to give Mai a hug, and Yuuichi and Shiho briefly took a break from eating their sundaes to look at the happy couple standing before them. "I guess I don't have anything to worry about after all," said Shiho, licking the chocolate from her fingers.

"What are you talking about?" asked Natsuki.

"It looks like Mai seems to be a lot more interested in you than...Yuu!" She pointed and laughed at Yuuichi, who proceeded to slap her hand away after making such a bad pun.

"Knock it off, Shiho!" he said. "This is why I don't like taking you anywhere."

Mai giggled along with Shiho. "I see the two of you are getting along well. Should I leave you to enjoy your dessert by yourselves?"

"That's quite all right, thank you." He took a big scoop out of his extra-tall sundae, eating it and the cherry whole without bothering to remove the stem. "You know, Tokiha...there's something different about you from the way you were two weeks ago. You seem a lot more energetic than usual."

"Really? I'm glad you noticed."

"Yeah...if I didn't know any better, I'd think that Kuga put a spell on you."

Natsuki scowled at him, trying to hide a blush. "What are you insinuating? This was all _your_ idea to begin with, remember?"

"Hey...I didn't say it was _bad_ or anything. I just call 'em as I see 'em."

"Why don't you two sit down and enjoy this ice cream with us?" asked Shiho. "It's really good."

Mai looked around the diner to find a table to sit in with Natsuki. A few spots had cleared up since her entry, and Kazuya was in the midst of collecting a tip from a couple who had recently finished eating their dinner and dessert. "You sure you don't want anything, Natsuki?" asked Mai. "I'll pay for it."

"All right," said Natsuki. "It's probably better for me not to leave on an empty stomach."

Mai waved Kazuya over to the counter. "Taking a break, Mai?" he asked.

"Yeah...I'm kinda hungry," she replied. "Is it okay?"

"Everything seems to have calmed down a bit, so I guess it wouldn't hurt too much. I'll see if I can get someone else from the back to help out. What can I get you?"

"I'd like a medium-sized soda," said Natsuki.

"And some ice cream, too," said Mai.

Kazuya nodded, and wrote the order down on his notepad. "Coming right up!"

As he left to get their food, the two girls took their place across from each other at a table near the wall, away from Yuuichi and Shiho. "So, where's Mikoto?" asked Mai. "I figured with a sale like this, she'd want to come along for the ride."

"She's at Mashiro's place again, doing her homework," said Natsuki. "I guess the headmaster wanted her to stay behind and out of trouble. I can't say that I blame her."

"Come on, Natsuki. Mikoto isn't a bad person. She's trying her best to mature."

"I understand...but there are still people out here who'll try to take advantage of young girls like her. I don't want to risk bringing her out here by herself again, like the last time..."

A little while later, Kazuya returned with a bottle of cola and a cup of vanilla ice cream drenched in chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Mai's mouth watered at the sight of it; she had been serving to the customers all day, but was equally delighted to get the chance to eat some herself. "Thanks, Kazuya," she said, handing him her payment for the meal.

"Enjoy your dessert, ladies," he said.

Natsuki took a sip from her soda and leaned in close to Mai, using her other hand to block Shiho's vision. "Mai, why is that girl staring at us?" she asked.

"Beats me," said Mai. "I thought she'd want to spend more time with her 'Big Brother' Tate."

"She already knows that the two of us are kinda-sorta dating. Do you think she's expecting us to kiss?"

"Probably. It would be nice if she did, though...it makes me really nervous when she does this."

Natsuki shifted her focus to Shiho, but Mai tried to force her to keep her eyes on their table. "No! Don't look over there!" said Mai.

"Do you have a better suggestion?"

"We might as well just go ahead and do it, already. What harm could there be?"

Natsuki ate a small scoop of the ice cream sundae and wiped a bit of chocolate sauce from her chin. "All right..._one_ kiss," she said, "but that's all you'll get today. Understand?"

"Sure thing," said Mai, interlacing her hands with Natsuki's and adding, "sweetie."

This time, the kiss was shorter than those she was used to, but the lingering taste of chocolate on Natsuki's breath left Mai craving for more. An excited, high-pitched squeal came from Shiho's end of the diner. "Oh, my goodness!" she said to Yuuichi. "I can't believe they actually did it! Why won't you do something like that, Yuuichi?"

"So I'm not 'Big Brother' anymore?" he asked. "Does this mean you're going to grow up and start acting like a lady?"

Shiho continued to smile at Yuuichi, even though his words didn't match up with her personal philosophy. "Yeah, okay," she said.

"Come on...we should get back to Fuuka. If we don't move soon, we'll miss the bus, and then we'll have to wait a half-hour for the next one."

Yuuichi finished off his sundae and went to pick up and turn off his boombox. Almost as if by magic, the customers reacted to the sudden silence by staring at Yuuichi. Mai went to the counter to attempt to remedy the situation. "Hey! Where are you going with that?" she shouted as he turned to leave. "I said I'd give it back to you when I was done."

"Yeah, but I have to get back to school, too, you know," said Yuuichi. "Besides, you said you were riding home with Kuga. I don't want this thing getting broken on the highway."

"Suit yourself. Just remember that it'll be _your_ fault if something happens in here without the music."

"Whatever. I'll see you back at the campus, then. Thanks for the ice cream, Tokiha!"

"Yeah," said Shiho. "It was delicious!" She latched onto Yuuichi's free arm again as they left the diner to wait for the next bus.

"You're welcome," Mai muttered after they were well out of the way.

Natsuki patted her lightly on the shoulder. "Just let him go, Mai," she said. "Let's not get too worked up over that. Besides...there's only room on my motorcycle for two."

Mai responded to the joke by tapping on Natsuki's lips. "_Now_, who's the silly one?" she said.

"I think I'll go take a short trip around town. Just give me a call when you're ready, okay?"

"You got it."

As Natsuki left to tend to her vehicle, Mai fantasized about the lingering taste of chocolate on her lips as she cleaned the tables, cheerfully whistling to the tune she heard on the radio before Yuuichi took it away. Kazuya eventually came by to help after waving to one of the other staffers. "Hey, Mai," he said. "You certainly look happy. Did you enjoy the sundae?"

"Best ice cream ever," she said.

"That good, huh? The look in your eyes tells me something else, too. I remember seeing that same look in Akane's eyes on the day she first asked me out. I assume that you and that girl in the jacket are...?"

Mai was surprised that Kazuya hadn't heard the news. She rarely saw him outside of work and the times he hung around Akane, but she knew that his girlfriend liked to tell him anything even remotely interesting that happened on campus. She simply nodded and continued to clean up the tables and tips as things wound down. "Love is a wonderful thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah. I didn't think it'd happen to me this year...and especially not like this. I'm glad that I'm able to be happy around Natsuki, and that she can be comfortable letting me get close to her."

"Well, I'm glad you're happy, and I hope that things work out well between the two of you."

"Thanks, Kazuya. Are you going to take one of these sundaes home for Akane-chan?"

"No...I don't think it would survive the bus trip. I'll probably buy a tub of ice cream on the way home and make my own."

"I see. Well, good luck to you."

The last of the customers exited the Linden Baum diner, leaving the waiters behind to tend to the resulting mess. Mai wished she could have kept the radio a few minutes longer...or purchased her own to avoid having to ask Yuuichi the question altogether. There was still time for her to relax before the sun went down, making her thankful that by the same time tomorrow, she would be rejoined by Akane and Midori for assistance. She went to the back room and hung up her apron, and then walked out to the parking lot, waiting for the girl in the motorcycle to pick her up and take her into her arms once again.


	16. Tea Party

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Here we are...the beginning of the second half of my Mai-HiME (which totally still doesn't belong to me) shoujo-ai fanfic. Mai and Natsuki are now an "unofficial official couple", thanks to some clever message manipulation; thus, they have to try to keep their own flame going without abandoning their other friends. Golden Week is almost upon them, with plenty of opportunities for "special planning"..._

* * *

**Day 16 - Tea Party**  
Theme #12 - In a good mood

Haruka paced back and forth behind her desk in the student council room. She was waiting for Shizuru and Reito to start the day's meeting, but they refused to say anything because not everybody was in attendance. Her irritation was clearly visible, as the wrinkles in her forehead became more and more pronounced with each iteration. "Where is that Tokiha girl?" she asked. "We've waited for her for ten minutes now, and she's holding up the proceedings. This is unacceptable behavior!"

"Take it easy, Suzushiro," said Natsuki, calmly leaning against the wall next to the front door. "She told me she'd be here, and I held her to that."

"Well, next time, you should let your girlfriend know that student council meetings are to start at four o'clock sharp, and not a second later."

"Hey...I can't help it if Mai has things to do."

"I don't want to take sides or anything," murmured Yuuichi, "but I gotta agree with Haruka here. What's taking Tokiha so long, anyway?"

Natsuki's own brow started to furrow as she reacted to Yuuichi's comment. "I told you, she'll be here!"

"Hmm...you seem a bit stressed out, Natsuki-san," said Reito. "Perhaps some tea would do the trick."

"No thank you, Kanzaki. I'll be fine."

Yukino took a sip from her cup. "This jasmine tea is excellent," she said, offering it to Haruka. "You should try some, Haruka-chan."

"I'm not interested in tea right now," said Haruka. "I just want to get this meeting over with so that I can finish my homework."

All eyes turned to the front door, as Mai opened it and hunched over the nearest desk, panting and covered in sweat from her forehead down. "Sorry I'm late, everyone," she said. "I got called over to the infirmary to check on Takumi."

"Oh...is he all right?" asked Shizuru.

"Yeah. Apparently, he forgot to take his afternoon medication on time, and he started complaining about chest pains. I had to rush his pill box over to him as quickly as I could. I promise I won't be late again."

Natsuki sat down next to Mai and wiped her forehead with a paper towel. "It's okay, Mai," she said. "You did your best."

"Now that everybody's here, I officially call this meeting to order. I promise to keep this short and sweet, since we only have one topic to discuss, anyway." Shizuru stood up from her desk and began writing on the chalkboard behind her. "As you all know, the Golden Week holiday is coming up in two weeks. This year, we've been asked to coordinate the week-long festival on behalf of the school. The headmaster has allotted enough money for us to set things up the way we want. We have ideas for activities in place already, but we haven't settled on a location yet. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"We could hold the festivities here at the academy," said Mai. "The campus is large enough for us to set up a lot of tents and booths and stuff. We might even be able to get some kids interested in joining the school."

"I don't know about that," said Natsuki.

"Huh? Why not?"

"What if something were to happen to them then? Even with everybody active, we can't guarantee the safety of over a thousand people by ourselves. The last thing we want is for people to think of Fuuka as a breeding ground for monsters, and this school would be the first place that 'they' are likely to attack."

"You bring up a good point, Natsuki-san," said Reito. "We ought to try moving our festivities somewhere that's a little less dangerous and a little more...visible. Perhaps we could hold our festival in the city proper."

"That might be even harder for us," said Yukino. "Most of the prime booth spots in the city were holed up weeks in advance. We'd be lucky to get a slot in the suburbs...and that's really far away from here."

"The downtown commute takes about thirty minutes," said Haruka. "Most of the students aren't old enough to drive, and we can't expect them all to go there by bus. That would cause a traffic nightmare! And that doesn't even take into account the amount of money we'd have to spend to rent the buses out in the first place."

"So then, what can we do?" asked Mai.

"I have an idea," said Shizuru. "Do you think we'd be able to borrow the shrine for a few days, Tate-kun? It's not too far from the campus, and there wouldn't be as big a danger of anyone getting attacked."

Yuuichi was momentarily distracted by the sight of Mai smiling at Natsuki and holding her hand, preparing to sneak in a kiss during the explanation. "Uh, yes, of course, Shizuru-san," he said, "although that's really not up to me. I'll have to talk it over with Shiho's grandpa, since he's in charge of the place."

"Wonderful. Now, we'll need to assign activities for each of you to follow for the week. Haruka...will you and Yukino be comfortable overseeing security for the events?"

"You bet!" Haruka said enthusiastically. "No misbehavior will go under the radar when I'm around...not even from you!" She stood up and pointed a finger at Shizuru, and then another one at Reito. Neither of them budged.

Yukino put a hand on Haruka's shoulder and tapped lightly. "Calm down, Haruka-chan," she said. "You'll hurt yourself if you keep doing that."

"Yukino!"

Yukino shook her head and continued to drink her tea. "Just trying to help..."

"Anyway," said Reito, "since the student council is basically a liaison between this school and the public, that leaves Shizuru and I in charge of greeting people."

"That makes perfect sense...I guess," said Yuuichi.

"Tate-san, you'll be in charge of the games and prize booth. That leaves...hmm, let me see...you two."

"Us?" asked Natsuki.

Reito smiled toward the two girls, looking down toward their hands for a brief moment. "That's right. I'd like the two of you to work together with refreshments. You can handle that, can't you?"

"Well, Mai's much better at food preparation than I am, but...I could give it a shot."

"That's all right, Natsuki," said Shizuru. "You don't have to let Mai do all the work. The two of you could go back and forth between preparing the food and serving it. I'm sure the partying public would love to see both your faces."

"Sure...I don't have a problem with that," said Mai.

"Then it's settled. We'll all meet here again at this time next week to discuss the proceedings. I'll also send an e-mail to each of you a few days before the holiday to let you know what your duties are for the event. Is everyone clear?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Good. I guess that concludes today's meeting. You're all free to go now. Have a pleasant day!"

Yukino and Haruka got up from their chairs and walked out the door one by one. Natsuki and Mai left a few seconds afterward, waving to each other after breaking off in opposite directions. Yuuichi decided to stay behind with the two student council heads to help them clean up. As he erased the chalkboard, he looked briefly at Reito and Shizuru, who sat still in their chairs, smiling at nothing in particular. "Aren't you guys going to help?" he asked.

Reito chuckled softly as he picked up Yukino's cup of leftover tea.

"What's so funny, Kanzaki-senpai?" asked Yuuichi.

"I guess you noticed it, as well," said Reito.

"Noticed what?"

"The way those two were looking at each other a little while ago. About a month ago, they were at each other's throats, with hardly a kind word to say. Now, they've got stars in their eyes, and they're communicating with each other like best friends."

"You're taking this awfully well, Kanzaki. I mean, weren't you...?"

Reito cut Yuuichi off with a wave of his hand, and then offered to clear the rest of the board for him. "I know what your next question is going to be...and the answer to that is 'yes'. However, I'm a firm believer in letting things play out naturally. If Mai and Natsuki really get along as well as we're seeing, then I see no reason to put myself in the middle of it."

"What about you, Fujino-senpai?"

"Me?" Shizuru blushed a bit as she laid out a stack of papers and organized them into different piles. "I guess that's not a big secret anymore, is it? Yes, it's true that I admire Natsuki, but Mai is also one of my friends. As long as they're both happy, I have no objections. It's like Kanzaki just said...it's best for me not to interfere."

"Is there something wrong, Tate-san?" asked Reito. "Are you starting to have second thoughts?"

"No...nothing like that," Yuuichi replied. "I was just curious, that's all."

"Well, that's it for me. I'm off to the tennis court. The girls are starting their spring tournament, and I want to get good seats. Do you want to come along?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Yuuichi opened the side window and clapped the erasers as cleanly as possible, and then left them near the chalkboard before following Reito out the door.

Shizuru continued to organize her papers, signing a few of them at random before looking up at the two boys about to exit. "I'd like to join you two in a little while," she said, "but I still have things to take care of here. Be kind and save me a seat, won't you?"


	17. Weathering the Storm

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: D'oh...stupid me. I made some small factual errors in earlier chapters that I should have seen after a few seconds of research (for example, mislabeling Shizuru's weapon as a "halberd" instead of a "naginata", and Mai working at the cafe at 12:30 in the afternoon? Oops.) I've since made corrections to those chapters, and hopefully the plot will make a little more sense now._

_See? These little mistakes are why actual Mai-HiME development is left in the hands of professionals instead of me._ _I hope you forgive me, and continue to enjoy the story anyway._

* * *

**Day 17 - Weathering the Storm**  
Theme #3: jolt!

"Hi...it's Natsuki. Mikoto says you left your jacket at the dorm again. Didn't you watch the weather report today? There's supposed to be heavy rain with a strong chance of thunder...nasty stuff. I hope you remembered to take an umbrella with you. Anyway, I'm coming down to bring a raincoat, in case things get worse. Don't leave the diner area until I get there. Stay cheerful for me, okay, Mai? Later."

_Easy for you to say,_ Mai thought as she put her cell phone away after listening to the message. _You don't actually have to stand out here where it's soaking wet._

She opened her umbrella and walked toward a bench in front of the Linden Baum, waiting for Natsuki to arrive. With the roads soaked in rain, traffic around the city was very light, with only a few cars passing by the store each minute. A little while after Mai sat down, a taxi cab pulled up to the parking lot of the diner, and Natsuki emerged from the back seat wearing a blue raincoat and holding an umbrella of her own. She kept a yellow raincoat tucked under her other arm and handed it to Mai. "You should put that on quickly," she said. "If you stand out here too long without it, you'll catch cold."

Mai draped the raincoat around her shoulders. "Thanks," she said. "I'm glad you came down here. I thought you were going to come down here on your bike, though."

Natsuki waved toward the driver as she folded up her umbrella to walk underneath the one Mai was holding. "As bad as the weather is tonight, I didn't want to risk crashing. If that happened, then neither of us would be able to make it back home."

"There's a bus stop a few blocks away from here. We could always use that to get back to the campus."

"The taxi is faster, though..." Natsuki checked her pockets, but realized that she didn't have enough money to make the return trip.

"Shoot!" said Mai after inspecting her own wallet. "I'm a bit low on cash myself. Looks like we'll have to go by bus after all."

"Fine by me. As long as we're together, I don't care how we get back."

Mai turned toward Natsuki, lightly stroking the blue strands of hair splayed about her shoulders. It felt oddly wet to the touch for someone who had spent the last several minutes inside a moving vehicle. "That's odd. Are you sure you didn't spend a little time dancing in the rain before you came down here?"

"Maybe a little. Shouldn't I be allowed to have some fun even when the weather's not so good?"

"I never said it was a _bad_ thing. I actually like teasing your hair when it's nice and wet. There _is_ one thing I like even better than that, though."

"And what might that be?"

Mai slid her hand down to Natsuki's waist and leaned forward to give her a soft kiss. "The sensation my body gets when our lips touch, of course."

Natsuki returned Mai's kiss eagerly, tensing her hands up and brushing her tongue lightly against the young redhead's lips. Small droplets of rain fell onto her hands, and she brought her wet fingers to Mai's cheeks to balance the heat between them. "You're right," she whispered. "It does feel good."

As the two girls were locked in their embrace, their moment of temporary bliss was interrupted when they saw the sky light up around them, followed shortly by a loud rumbling noise. They stopped kissing long enough to look around, expecting something to jump out at them. "We should probably get going now," said Mai.

She and Natsuki hastened their movement toward the bus stop, trying to move quickly together under the umbrella. A quick succession of rapid-fire flashes followed, appearing to blink the message "GET OUT!" in Morse code. As the two girls made a break for it, a lightning bolt ripped through the sky in the distance. All of a sudden, every street light on the block had gone out, leaving them steeped in darkness. Mai tried to light the way using her fire Element, but not even its power could overcome the fury of nature, as the rain snuffed out the flames faster than she could regenerate them. "Don't you have a flashlight or something with you, Natsuki?"

"I think so," said Natsuki. "I didn't think I'd have to use it heavily tonight, though."

Natsuki removed a miniature flashlight from her pants pocket and turned it on, illuminating the ground several feet ahead of her. They were near a street corner--Yamamoto Drive, according to the sign on the pole. "How much further do we have to go?" she asked.

"Make a left here," said Mai. "The stop should be somewhere on this block."

Natsuki and Mai turned left, almost blinded by the lights of a truck coming from the opposite direction. With no working traffic lights to tell it to stop, it kept going until it hit the corner, moving as quickly as possible and almost denting the pole. A bolt of lightning struck the ground in front of them, illuminating the surrounding area and forming a dragon-like beast almost twice their size. "An Orphan? All the way out here?"

Natsuki threw down her umbrella and drew both of her guns, firing them rapidly at the beast to little effect. The energy dragon lunged forward and tried to bite Natsuki, but she jumped out of the way with Mai under her arm. "I'll take care of this beast. Just find some place to hide until the rain dies down."

"What's that you're doing, Natsuki Kuga?" mocked a soft voice directly above them. "Telling your 'beloved' to run and hide like some common street thug on the lam?"

Natsuki looked up and immediately recognized the woman by the sharp claws she held in her hands. Her face and hair were drenched in rain, and the red poncho she wore barely covered her shoulders. "Nao Yuuki? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Honestly, Natsuki," said Nao. "What happened to you? You used to be so tough. But here, I see you cuddled on the asphalt next to that pathetic little girl. It seems as if Mai Tokiha's stolen your heart..._and_ your edge."

Natsuki snarled at Nao, firing an offhand shot toward the dragon that knocked its head back as it reared up for a sneak attack. "Shut up! I'm perfectly capable of defending Mai _and_ myself. I don't need your help."

"Oh, I wasn't offering my help, dearie. You two go run along and let the big girls handle things."

Nao waved a dismissive hand toward the two girls, and then jumped onto a parked car as the dragon shot a bolt of light in their direction, blasting a hole in a nearby apartment building. "Come out and play, Julia!" she cried. "You too, Shizuru!"

The large spider-scorpion hybrid descended onto the pavement with a loud thud, cracking the ground with its massive legs. Shizuru came in from the opposite direction with her CHILD, the multi-headed serpent Kiyohime, slithering in tow.

"What are those two doing?" asked Natsuki, peeking at the action from behind another nearby parked car. "They're going to wreck the place running around like that!"

Mai pushed Natsuki's head down as another bolt of light came their way. "Do _you_ want to go in there and try to stop them?"

Shizuru launched an initial attack against the dragon's tail. The wound from her naginata caused the dragon to wince in pain, whipping its tail and knocking Shizuru a few feet backwards. She got back up and charged toward it again, extending the head of her polearm and wrapping it around the tail to immobilize and distract the dragon. "Now, Yuuki-kun!" she ordered. "Do it!"

With the beast focused on Shizuru, Nao ordered Julia to attack, ensnaring the dragon in several thousand strands of thick webbing, slowing its movements and making it easier to hit. It was Kiyohime's turn to strike next. One snake head rammed itself against the stunned Orphan's torso. Several others attacked the head repeatedly until it was unable to lift off the ground. The center head sank its teeth into the Orphan's body, causing its head to tilt upward and fire a burst of energy into the air, briefly illuminating the night sky and revealing Mai and Natsuki's position. The monster was now defenseless, allowing Nao and Shizuru to finish it off by severing its head. The resulting explosion of energy and light knocked both girls down and plunged the area into darkness again. Fires briefly burned around the battleground, but were quickly quenched as the rain continued to fall around them. Natsuki and Mai emerged from their hiding spots to assess the damage. "Is everything all right?" asked Natsuki.

Shizuru was startled by Natsuki's flashlight, but still relieved to see her when her face was revealed. "Yup...it's all clear," she said, immediately grasping Natsuki for a hug, causing her to drop the flashlight. "Are you hurt?"

Natsuki winced, clutching her right arm. "I'm fine...really."

Mai picked the flashlight up from Natsuki's feet and shined it toward Shizuru. "Shizuru-san? Is that you?"

"What th-- Mai-han?" said Shizuru. "Be careful! Don't scare me like that."

"Shizuru! Why are you wasting your energy on those cowards?" Nao said angrily.

"Coward?" Mai stomped her way over to Nao and started yelling in Nao's face. "You're not the only one who wanted to fight that Orphan, you know. Natsuki and I would have handled it just fine if you hadn't pushed us away."

"Really? From what I saw, it looked like the two of you were trying to fight something else."

Shizuru calmly stepped between Mai and Nao as the two girls threatened to fight each other on the spot. "Settle down, you two," she said. "What's done is done. We defeated the Orphan, that's for sure...but now there's such an awful mess to clean up."

"Yeah...and we still don't have a way to get home," said Mai.

"You can stay here and wait for the cavalry to arrive," said Nao, "but _I'm_ going to find my own way back."

"By blindly running around in the dark?"

"Oh, come now. You should know that I do my best work in the shadows. Tonight's been fun, but I'm afraid I must be off. Catch you later."

Nao disappeared from sight, using the wires embedded into her claws to reach a nearby tree branch. She swung away from the wreckage as quickly as possible to avoid getting caught. The other three headed further up Yamamoto Drive, but were stopped by a pair of incoming police cars. Three officers came out of their vehicles, combing the area with flashlights and assessing the damage. "Are you young ladies lost?" said one.

"Actually, officers," said Natsuki, "we were on our way back to school, but the power went out before we could catch a ride."

Another officer wrote down notes as she continued to tell her story. "And yet you continued to wander around in the darkness instead of waiting for help?"

"We couldn't stay put, given the current conditions. That would have left us vulnerable to muggers, or murderers, or worse."

"I see." The first officer shined a flashlight on a smashed-up car from the resulting battle. "Can you explain _this_ for us?"

"We didn't see how that happened. The car was like that when we passed this street."

The lead officer shook his head, and he and his two partners placed the girls in handcuffs and led them to the back of their squad cars, placing Natsuki in a seat by herself. "I'm going to have to ask you three to come with us for questioning."


	18. Isolation

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Another short chapter, huh? Yeah, I'm afraid so. With the city cleaning up after the previous night's downtown disaster, there isn't much for the girls to do, since the school's been locked down. Lots of people are on edge over the incident, so all they can do is worry about what happens next._

_For those about to read...always remember that Sunrise originally made this series/franchise, not I. _

* * *

**Day 18 - Isolation**  
Theme #25 - fence

Mai, Natsuki and Shizuru spent part of the night at the Fuuka Police Station, one of the few "essential facilities" in the city running on reserve power. They were interrogated by members of the police department for an hour about the Yamamoto Drive incident, and then were sent back to Fuuka Academy once power had been restored to the city. None of the girls were happy with their situation, as they had lost hours of sleep trying to make sense of what happened.

The next morning was no better. News spread quickly across the school about the Orphan attack downtown, and nobody was allowed to leave the campus until the damage was fully cleaned up. Natsuki left her room and took a walk toward the garden to search for any suspicious characters, but all she found were a few students chatting by the athletic field.

"Hey, Kuga," said the tallest one. "You wanna tell me what the deal is with all after-school activities being shut down today?"

"Don't ask me, Takeda," she replied. "That decision was made by the headmaster. Have you talked to her lately?"

Masashi Takeda lifted the _shinai_ from his shoulder and set it on the ground. "Nope. Her office has been closed since last night. Fujino-san's been quiet lately, as well. Did something happen between you two?"

Natsuki shook her head vigorously. "Of course not!" she said. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, the two of you were downtown last night, weren't you?" asked Masashi. "Did you see what happened down there?"

"We were looking for a way home when the power went out in the city. That's when the police spotted us. After we spent some time in the precinct answering questions, they sent us back. A waste of time, if you ask me."

"How long do you think it'll be before we can safely leave this place?"

"It shouldn't take too long," said Natsuki. "The city is usually very quick about cleaning up after a disaster strikes."

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen Tokiha-san around lately, either," he said, stroking his chin and grinning. "It's the first time in about a week I've seen the two of you apart."

"She's a bit stressed out after what happened. I haven't been able to talk to her since then. I think she's still in her room."

"Well, if that's the case, I'll bet she's trying to catch up on some sleep. I'm sure we'd all like to right now." He picked up his bamboo sword and walked away from the area, taking a deep breath with each step. "I, on the other hand, have to keep up with my training. If you bump into Tate later on, tell him to come see me. Catch you later!"

Natsuki waved to Masashi, and then went to sit on a nearby rock. She checked her cell phone for text messages from the two girls. Only one message came from Shizuru: "I hope you haven't forgotten about that 'thing' I promised you. Meet me tomorrow in the SC office to pick it up. Say 'hi' to Mai for me if you see her."

Next, she checked her voicemail, expecting to hear something from Mai. When she didn't, she started to worry. _I wonder why she hasn't tried to call me,_ she thought. _Maybe I'll give her something to cheer her up once lunch break comes around._

* * *

Back at Mai's dorm, Mikoto frantically searched through the cabinets for something to eat. Her stomach growled fiercely, and she needed something to fill it. "Mai!" she said. "Is my bento box ready?"

There was no answer. Mai sat on her bed reading a newspaper article on last night's incident. The official word from the newspaper was that a freak lightning strike knocked out power for a large section of the city, causing structural damage to an apartment building and several vehicles. _That's really stupid,_ she thought, _but it couldn't be any less absurd than what actually happened._

"Mai?"

Mai folded up the paper and tossed it at her feet, sinking her head into her hands. "What is it?"

"Is something wrong?" Mikoto leaped onto Mai's bed and tried to sit next to her.

Mai knew Mikoto was staring at her, but refused to look up. "I just wish I could have done something last night."

"Done something? About what?"

"That thing that happened downtown."

Mikoto picked up the newspaper on the floor and stared at the picture on the front page. "Oh, that's right...the lightning accident. Nao told me she saw you down there."

Mai remembered seeing Nao at the site of the accident, and immediately recalled the things she said. The very mention of the name made her want to punch something, but it wasn't Nao's comments that hurt her the most. "I wanted to help Natsuki and the others, but I couldn't do anything in the heavy rain. She was the one who wound up saving me."

"But isn't that what a partnership is supposed to be about? Friends helping friends? That's what you always told me."

"Yeah...but I like to think that my partnership with Natsuki goes even deeper than that."

Mikoto stopped for a few seconds to think about it, and then a small lightbulb went off in her head once she put everything together. "Is that because you're in love with her?"

Mai nodded silently.

"And you don't want Natsuki to think you're weak, right?"

"That's part of it, I guess," said Mai. "I also want to be able to share as much with her as I can. You know...food, fights, kisses...that sort of thing."

"Oh. That's okay, too, but don't get yourself too wrapped up in it."

Mai finally looked up when Mikoto placed an arm around her. "My grandpa used to tell me something to live by," said Mikoto. "You wanna know what that was?"

"What did he say to you?" asked Mai. "Ow!"

Mikoto grinned and pinched Mai's earlobe until it turned red. "Just play it by ear, and everything will fall into place! That's always been my philosophy."

"Do you think it'll work?"

"I dunno," said Mikoto. "He said it's different for everybody."

"I really can't do anything about it until things clear up outside, but it's worth a shot. Thanks, Mikoto."

A cheerful smile returned to Mai's face, and Mikoto returned it with a great big hug. "That's the Mai Tokiha I remember!" she said. "Now, can you help me make my lunch?"

"Uh, sure. Just give me a minute, okay?"

As Mikoto went to the refrigerator to pick out things to eat for lunch, Mai pulled out her cell phone and sent a text message to Natsuki: "Sorry I didn't call you after last night. I needed some time to myself to think."

A response came back a few moments afterward. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Don't feel bad about what happened. I'll still be here for you no matter what."

"Thank you, Natsuki. I'll do my best for you, too."


	19. Missing in Action

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Sadly, I don't have much to say here, except this took me a little bit longer to complete than the others, as I was having trouble coming up with ideas. I hope I haven't hit a wall..._

_Anyway, as I've repeated before, Mai-HiME is a Sunrise property, and will remain that way until the end of my lifetime. _

* * *

**Day #19 - Missing in Action**  
Theme #4 - Our distance and that person

Shizuru sat at her desk in the student council room, keeping her arms folded and her eyes fixated on Nagi. He was taken into detention for questioning after having missed every single one of his classes for two consecutive days. Her normally serene smile faded when she saw him staring away from her and out the window at a pair of students arguing over a spill on the sidewalk. "Now, I'm only going to ask you this question one more time," she said sternly. "What were you doing perched on _top_ of the clock tower at two o'clock today? Nishimura-sensei brought in a report saying that he spotted you up there while he was taking attendance. If you keep this up, you're going to be held back another year."

"Oh, my dear student council president," said Nagi. "All I was doing was enjoying the weather. Surely you can let this little infraction slide, can't you? I turn my homework in on time. Shouldn't that be enough?"

"Not according to the school charter. In addition, this isn't the first time you've been reported having deserted your classes, Nagi."

Nagi leaned back in his chair and opened the book in his hand to a bookmarked location. "I'm quite disappointed that you said that, Shizuru. Could it be because I'm not tall, dark and handsome?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I seem to recall you ignoring a similar citation from one Natsuki Kuga early last week. It appears that someone's playing favorites and trying to earn a few...brownie points. I'd hate to have to notify the headmaster about this shameless abuse of power."

"My relationship with Natsuki has nothing to do with this. Don't think you can get out of it by going to Mashiro, either. She's also received a copy of this letter, and has been ordered to deal with you personally if you try anything funny."

"Oh, well," said Nagi. "Guess I'll just sit here and serve my sentence like a good little boy."

"That's better." Shizuru reached under her desk and picked up a potted plant containing the gardenia she took from her garden. When she looked up, she saw Haruka standing at the door waiting for her. "He's all yours."

Upon seeing Haruka's eyes light up with sadistic glee, Nagi tried to keep his composure, matching Haruka's gaze with one of his own. "Come on, Shizuru. Won't you stay a little while longer? I said I would be a good boy."

"Sorry," replied Shizuru. "I have a prior arrangement that I need to take care of immediately."

Shizuru walked out of the student council room with the plant tucked neatly underneath her arm. Now that she was relieved of her responsibility of watching over Nagi, she could smile again. She waited out in the hallway for Natsuki to arrive, slowly slumping to the ground as time passed with no other students walking by. "What's taking her so long?" she asked herself. "I told her to meet me in this spot. I hope she's not off doing anything dangerous."

A few minutes later, Natsuki walked through the front door of the building, clad in her red-and-black motorcycle jacket, and combing her hair as she walked toward the student council room. Her eyes were filled with sadness and irritation, while Shizuru's mood brightened as Natsuki drew near. She immediately stood back up and held the potted plant in front of her. "Why, hello there," she said cheerfully. "Out for another day on the town?"

"I wish," said Natsuki. "The roads are all clogged up ever since they started working on Yamamoto Drive. I can't go anywhere."

"That's too bad. I was planning on taking a drive into town once I finished up here, but I got stuck having to, um...'babysit'."

"Who'd you get stuck with this time?"

"That little white-haired boy who's always sitting on trees and stuff."

Natsuki cracked a smile when she realized who Shizuru was talking about. "He actually stayed still long enough for you to bring him in?"

"He didn't give us any resistance. I was surprised. It was almost like he _wanted_ to be captured."

"Is someone keeping an eye on him now?"

"He's in Haruka's hands now. He kept mumbling something about me letting you off the hook for doing the same thing."

"Ha! Kids these days will say anything to get out of detention...even Nagi."

Shizuru inched closer to Natsuki, staring directly into her emerald-green eyes and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Of course, if I had my way," she said in a soft tone, "I'd give you longer detentions, so that I could more easily keep my eye on you."

"Hey!" Natsuki backed away a few steps, slightly offended by the implication of having to cut out more of her free time by staying after school. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The boy does have a point, Natsuki. You _do_ spend a lot of time outside of class for someone who's so desperate to get out of this school on good terms."

"Fine," mumbled Natsuki. "I'll start going to class more often. At least that way, I won't have to spend my time after school dealing with _him_."

"All right. I'm holding you to your word, young lady. No tardiness, either! Promise?"

Shizuru smiled, but Natsuki couldn't bring herself to duplicate the feat. "I promise," she said.

"Good enough for me. Anyway, I have something I wanted to pass along to you. You remember this little guy, don't you?"

The gardenia in Shizuru's pot had grown from a simple bud into a majestic white flower, with its fluffy petals scattering in all directions. Seeing the little flower in all its glory caused Natsuki to display the carefree grin Shizuru waited to see. "It's all grown up now, and now it's ready to find a new home," said Shizuru, kissing the gardenia and handing it over to Natsuki.

"Thank you...Shizuru," Natsuki said nervously.

She stood by and stared at the gardenia, wondering what Mai would think if she accepted a gift from another girl. _Would she be mad at me? Jealous? No...not Mai. She was there that day when we both got the chrysanthemums, and she didn't raise any objections then. It's just an innocent, friendly gesture. Nothing more. And that's exactly what I'll say to her. I'm sure she'll understand._

"Just remember to water it a couple of times a day and give it plenty of sunlight so that it stays fresh," said Shizuru.

Natsuki carried the flower pot with her in both hands, trying not to drop it and shatter the clay. "Of course. I won't forget."

"Now, I'm going to return to my office for a little while to see how Nagi's doing. If you get a chance, tell Mai to come see me. I have a little something for her too."

Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "It's not another flower, is it?"

"Nope. That's a little secret between the two of us...me and Mai, that is."

"I'll let her know."

Shizuru bowed and returned to her chamber, while Natsuki walked back outside to catch up with Mai and Mikoto on their way to the gym. The young black-haired girl saw the flower in Natsuki's hands and gave her a cold frown, clutching Mai's arm protectively. Mai hadn't gone to the florist that day, so Mikoto suspected something was amiss. "Where did you get that?" she asked.

"It was a gift," said Natsuki.

Mikoto clenched her teeth and lowered her head toward the ground. "Return it. Now."

"Why should I?"

"You can't accept gifts from other people! It's not right!"

Mikoto lunged forward and tried to snatch the pot from Natsuki, but Mai grabbed her and squeezed hard to keep Mikoto in place. "Mikoto! What are you doing?" she asked. "I thought we agreed that there'd be no fighting between you two."

"But, Mai!"

Mikoto put up a struggle for another few seconds, but Mai refused to let go. "It's all right, Mikoto. I don't have a problem with her keeping it. As long as nobody's stealing any kisses from her, she can have whatever she wants."

"Okay," said Mikoto.

Mai loosened her grip and allowed Mikoto to take a look at the gardenia. She stared at it and sniffed a couple of times, wondering why people did such a thing at all in the first place. "I don't smell anything different about this one," she said.

Mai took a few sniffs herself, but she too was unable to pick up a scent. "Me neither," she said. "It still looks beautiful, though. What are you going to do with it, Natsuki?"

"Place it by the window next to the others," said Natsuki. "It'll certainly add a little color to the room. That is, it'll look better when someone cleans up the room."

"Did I just hear someone volunteer for the job?"

Natsuki sighed. "Come on, Mai. You know how I hate doing that stuff."

"Well, then you should have kept quiet about it," said Mai behind a giggle.

Natsuki continued walking toward the gym with the pot in her hand. "Before you go," she said, "you should stop by Shizuru's office. She wanted to see you for something."

"What? Now?"

"Yes, now. Suzushiro was in there, too. I wouldn't keep either of them waiting if I were you."

Mai wasn't afraid of Shizuru, but she knew she would be in deep trouble if she was late for Haruka. She ran away from the gym, blowing a quick kiss to Natsuki on her way over to the student council room. "Sorry! I'll catch up with you later!"

Natsuki walked away from Mikoto and changed her course toward the girls' dorm, waving to both of them as she went on her own. _See? Nothing to worry about. Now, I just need to make some room on the windowsill around the chrysanthemums..._


	20. Physical Therapy

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Mai-HiME: Created by Sunrise, and rigged with subtext for your (and my) pleasure._

_Just ten more days in the story to go, but that doesn't necessarily mean the end for these two princesses. Sadly, they got pretty banged up during last night's patrol (offscreen, unfortunately), and needed a quick and easy method of getting back on their feet._

* * *

**Day 20 - Physical Therapy**  
Theme #28 - Wada Calcium CD3

Everything around her was black. She had trouble opening her eyes or lifting her arms.

"Mai?"

Her body ached from head to toe. All of her senses worked, but it hurt to move.

"Mai!"

She tilted her head to the side to follow the angelic voice trying to rouse her to consciousness. A few seconds later, she felt a pair of lips pressed against her own. It was that same familiar, delicate, wonderful kiss she had experienced day in and day out. She slowly opened her eyes to confirm that it was indeed Natsuki sitting next to her on the bed.

"Are you all right now?" she said in a low voice before kissing her again.

Mai struggled to sit upright, while Natsuki fluffed a pillow for her to place behind her aching back. "No..." she groaned. "My body is a total wreck. I think I hit that wall a little too hard."

"You're not the only one," said Natsuki. She stretched out her right arm and waved it in a circle, feeling something pull as she lowered it to one side. "I don't think I've ever been in so much pain after one battle."

"Me neither," said Mai. "Those Orphans had it coming, though. If I hadn't gotten to Takumi in time, they would have killed him."

"Yeah, but did you have to use Kagutsuchi at such close range, though? The recoil from that blasts knocked all of us out. You...me...the Orphans...it's a mess out there."

The aching feeling slowly faded from Mai's arms and legs, and she was able to get up and walk around, albeit very slowly. "So who came to pick us up after the battle?" she asked.

"No one else was outside when we first went out there," said Natsuki, "but when I woke up, I was laying on a bed in the infirmary. The school nurse and that nutty red-haired teacher were in there chatting it up. I still couldn't figure out what was going on, so I went right back to sleep."

"Wow. I didn't know Midori-sensei had it in her. Maybe we should go visit her and thank her later on."

Mai walked over to the bathroom to freshen up. After she finished brushing her teeth, she opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a white bottle with a crudely written label that read "Wada Calcium CD3". She took a pill from the bottle and swallowed it, followed immediately with a cup of water to wash it down. _Yuck! This is disgusting,_ she thought. _How can Shizuru digest one of these things? Now I know why Takumi hates to take his medicine so much._

Natsuki followed Mai into the bathroom, catching her about to put the pill bottle back into the cabinet. "What's that in your hand?" she asked.

Mai handed the bottle over to Natsuki and allowed her to inspect it. "Vitamin supplements?" asked Natsuki.

"Yeah," said Mai. "Shizuru gave these to me."

"Come on, Mai...you don't need those. You're plenty strong already."

Natsuki ran one of her hands down Mai's left arm and squeezed hard. Mai instinctively tensed both of her biceps, but she could feel the pain start to rush in again. "Hey! Be careful where you squeeze," she said. "I'm still not quite one-hundred percent yet. Besides, I'm a growing young woman, and I need to take one of these a day to stay strong. You should take one of these, too."

"You sure this is going to work?"

Mai filled up a cup of water for Natsuki to drink. "It's not a magic pill, Natsuki. These things don't take effect immediately after you use one. Shizuru says that you have to take a vitamin every day to get the most benefits out of them."

Natsuki looked at the bottle again and removed one of the colorless pills. "Oh, well," she said, and then swallowed the pill in one big gulp. It felt uneasy going down, and the cup of water given to her by Mai didn't help. "Eww! What the hell was that?"

"I told you...calcium. It would be nice if it came in flavored chewable form, though."

Natsuki went back into the bedroom and changed from her pajamas into her school uniform. "What should we do now, Mai?" she said. "It's still early, and the nurse's office won't open until first period."

"I know a good way to pass the time," Mai said playfully. She followed Natsuki back into the bedroom, sitting behind her on the bed and gently rubbing the back of her neck. "Just sit still and relax. I'll take care of things from here."

Natsuki loosened up as much as possible, and relaxed while Mai applied more pressure to the back of her neck and shoulders. Having Mai close to her eased the pain a little bit, but she felt even better when Mai's hands pinched her skin in the right spots. She wanted to take off her shirt to give Mai more room to work, but didn't want to interrupt that feeling. "That feels so good," she said.

"Do you want me to go a little lower?" asked Mai.

"By all means, go ahead."

Without warning, Mai removed her partner's shirt and pushed her onto the bed, laying her out on her stomach and gently rubbing her upper back. "How does it feel now?" she asked.

This time, Natsuki remained silent, allowing Mai to take away her pain with that wonderful magic touch. For several minutes, she laid in bed as Mai's hands roamed up and down her spine, and each tingle she felt made her imagine things...sensual things..._naughty_ things that she hadn't thought of doing before the two of them became a couple. When Mai's hands made their way back to her neck, Natsuki turned her head to the side and said, "I think that's good enough. Now it's my turn."

She put her shirt back on and switched positions with Mai, rubbing the neck and shoulders the same way Mai had done to her. "I never thought I'd find myself doing this," she said.

"Oh? Why not?"

"This whole ordeal with the Orphans really doesn't leave much time to worry about relationships, does it? I didn't want you to get involved in all this, but you came anyway. Why?"

"I had no choice. It's not like I could have asked the captain to turn our ship around with thousands of other passengers on it."

"That would certainly be an..._inventive_ way of skipping school," Natsuki mused. She continued to work on Mai's lower back while the two of them were sitting upright, but eventually stopped and wrapped her arms around Mai's stomach to give her a full-fledged hug. "But since we're both here, I guess we'll need to watch each other's backs until this is over."

"I can live with that."

Mai reached around and rested one of her hands on Natsuki's cheek. "As long as we're together," she said, "there'll always be time for love. Trust me, sweetie...we'll find a way."

Again, she kissed Natsuki, holding her as tightly as possible so that she could share her pain and warmth with her lover. Natsuki didn't want Mai to go anywhere, either--she planned to stick with her for the long haul. The aches on her body she felt from the previous night were the furthest thing from her mind. All she wanted to do at the moment was stay close to Mai. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," Mai whispered back.

A few seconds later, the girls heard someone knocking on their bedroom door. "Mai! Are you still in there?"

"Yeah," said Mai. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Midori. I just wanted to see how you two girls were doing."

Mai got up from the bed and opened the door for her teacher, who was clad in a two-tone crimson-and-blue jogging suit. "Thanks for helping us out last night," she said.

"No problem," said Midori, jumping up and down in place to keep her heart rate up. "I'm glad you two aren't seriously hurt or anything."

"What are you doing up so early? Class isn't supposed to start for another hour or so."

"I'm getting in an early morning jog to keep my energy up. Even on a weekend, you need to prepare for anything."

Midori stepped inside the bedroom and stood up in front of Natsuki. She poked the girl with her foot to provoke her to reflexively sit up and pay attention. "So, what have you been doing all morning?" she asked.

"Trying to get rid of these nagging aches," said Natsuki, stretching her arm again to make sure that nothing else would tense up at a bad time.

"Still hurting, huh? You should probably take some ibuprofen or get a back massage. That'll soothe those aching muscles in no time."

Mai and Natsuki looked at each other for a second and giggled.

Midori looked back at them, confused, partially wondering why their hands were touching. "What? Did I say something funny?" she asked.

"No, no...that's a good idea, actually," said Mai. "The problem is that I don't have any ibuprofen in my medicine cabinet, and we can't see Sagisawa-san until first period starts."

"Oh, don't worry about that, Mai," said Midori. "I'll talk to her and see if I can get her to give you some medication. Just leave it to me!"

"Thanks, Midori-sensei."

Midori heard her wristwatch beep loudly. She checked the heart rate monitor function and noticed that her pulse was normalizing, so she sprung back up and assumed her jogging pace once again. "Uh-oh. I'd better get going. Either of you girls want to join me?"

"No, thanks," said Natsuki. "I think we'll take it easy for today."

"All right, then. See you in class!"

Midori left the girls to their devices, jogging out of the dorm and humming a tune to herself to which only she knew the lyrics. When she was far enough out of sight, Mai changed out of her pajamas and put on her school clothes, prepared to face the day anew. Though they weren't fully physically ready to do it, she and Natsuki had enough shared mental and emotional strength to last them for another two days. If that wasn't enough, they always had an easy method of recharging...


	21. In Memoriam

_Disclaimer and author's notes: We're running down to the last ten days (of the month). There's a little bit of drama in this chapter, but not too much. After all, it's only 30 days._

_Sunrise still owns Mai-HiME and the characters within. All I own is the computer I typed this story on (yes, I did pay for it with my own money)._

* * *

**Day 21 - In Memoriam**  
Theme #5 - "Hey...you know..."_  
_

_Church on a Sunday morning ...what a novel concept._

Natsuki and Mai were looking forward to spending a weekend together without having to worry about Orphans or any other outside influences. Their injuries had mostly healed, and their minds were mostly fresh. However, Mai had promised Takumi that she would go with him to church to listen to Sister Yukariko's sermon. The young nun was also part of the Orphan elimination effort, but she, too, had a day job to take care of, and this was where she shined the most.

"Let us pray, my friends," she said, her voice as calm as the organ music playing in the background. "Let us give thanks to God for allowing us to gather here safely today, and share a moment of silence for those who have passed on to the next life."

Yukariko bowed her head and closed her eyes, holding her Bible close to her heart. At least two dozen other parishioners followed suit, closing their eyes and remembering their loved ones, including relatives who lived far away from school property. With her brother on her right side and her girlfriend on her left, Mai clutched their hands and offered a silent prayer to the heavens. When she closed her eyes, she thought she could see a glimpse of her mother smiling upon the three of them. _Remember to always watch over Takumi,_ she would probably say. _I know how important he is to you. He's the only family you have now. Promise me that you won't let any harm come to him._

_I'm doing my best, Mother..._, Mai would whisper back. _Takumi's still here with me, and with Natsuki by my side, I know I'll never be alone._

Natsuki squeezed Mai's hand and prayed along with her, envisioning the mother who had left her all too soon._I'll never forgive them for what they did to you. I just wish I was old enough and strong enough to stop them back then. That way, you'd still be alive, and you, me and Dad would be a big, happy family._

As she remembered the last moments she spent with her mother Saeko before her murder, tears ran freely from Natsuki's eyes. She wanted to break down and cry in private, or at the very least let Mai hold her and kiss the tears away...but she couldn't. Not now, anyway, in front of all of those people. She would have to wait until they returned to the dorm for that. There were other things for her to worry about now, and she wanted to stay strong in front of Mai and Takumi.

Yukariko finished her prayer and lifted her head as the organ played the last note of its song of prayer. Her radiant smile never left her lips as she raised her hand to signal for everyone else to stand up. "We shall conclude our session today with a song of hope...a song of promise for the future," she said. "I know a lot of you must be feeling down right now. But do not worry, for God hears your prayers, and He will guide you through your time of uncertainty. You have to open your hearts and let Him in. Now, please open your hymnals to page 124, and lift your voices high."

As the parishioners searched for their hymnals and turned to the appropriate page, Yukariko turned her attention to the choir behind her. The students were all dressed in church-appropriate white school uniforms. Even Mikoto, who wasn't used to dressing in anything fancy, felt at ease wearing her chapel vestments. Mai was surprised, for it was the first time anyone had gotten Mikoto to stand still for an extended length of time for anything other than food. Mikoto appeared to be enjoying herself on stage, as well, as she got to share the lead vocals with Alyssa. Though few students actually got a chance to speak to the timid American blond, everyone in attendance was in awe at the way she sang the hymn.

"Hey...you know, I'll bet that Alyssa girl would clean up at a talent contest," said Natsuki.

Mai looked at her girlfriend out of the corner of her eye, half-annoyed. "So you're saying her singing is better than mine?" she asked in a low tone.

"It's not exactly karaoke, Mai," said Natsuki. "You want to try singing a bunch of spiritual songs in front of a crowd of people? Be my guest. I warn you; it's not as easy as it sounds."

Mai thought for a few moments as the song played on. She had tried a lot of different hobbies--kite flying, needlepoint, crossword puzzles--all fun personal activities, yes, but none of them gave her the satisfaction of receiving praise by a crowd. She figured it would be a good idea to try something new, and planned to join the choir with Mikoto once the next year came around. In the meantime, she, Natsuki and Takumi continued to sing until the hymnal ended. The crowd applauded heartily for Yukariko and the choir accompanying her. Everyone was allowed to exit the chapel, but the trio stayed behind to meet with the members of the choir. Mikoto stepped down from the stands to give Mai one of her characteristic great big hugs to let her know how excited she was to see her in the crowd.

"Mai!" she said. "I'm so glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too, Mikoto," Mai said as she patted Mikoto on the head. "You did a great job up there."

"Yeah," said Takumi. "Really nice. I wish I could sing like that."

"I tried to practice as much as I could before coming here today," said Mikoto, "but I think Sister Yukariko likes Alyssa's singing better. She always gets the good solo parts."

"Just keep working at it, Mikoto. I'm sure she'll warm up to your abilities and give you a chance to sing solo next week."

Yukariko looked at Mikoto and Alyssa and smiled at both of the singers, trying to prevent the conversation from devolving into an argument. "I think you both performed admirably today," she said. "You should be proud of yourselves."

"Th-thank you," said Alyssa, staring nervously at the people surrounding her. Without Miyu standing directly next to her as her protector, she was worried that something would happen. None of them appeared to have any malicious intentions, so Alyssa tried to smile for them, slowly at first, until it became as big as Mikoto's smile.

Mikoto patted Alyssa lightly on the back. "That's the spirit!" she said.

"Sister Yukariko," said Mai, "do you think I could get a chance to sing in the choir next year?"

"Of course, Mai," replied Yukariko. "There's always room for anyone who wishes to join the ranks of our singing group. Wouldn't you agree, girls?"

"I don't mind," said Alyssa.

Mikoto nodded along with her, and then handed her hymnal to Yukariko before leaving. Alyssa walked behind Mikoto, hoping that she would lead her to Miyu. The others placed their hymnals in shelves behind the pews in the front row and bowed toward Yukariko.

"Is there anything else I can do for you all today?" she asked.

Natsuki looked at Mai and Takumi, who both shook their heads vigorously. She tried to hide her sad face from them, and assured Yukariko that yes, she would be okay.

"Very well," the nun continued. "I hope you all will return to us next Sunday for our pre-Golden Week prayer breakfast. That way, you'll be in even brighter spirits when the holiday actually comes around."

"We'll try," said Natsuki.

As Mai and Natsuki left the chapel, they continued to hold each other's hands tightly, having become more confident about their new relationship and less timid about doing so in public over the last two weeks. Mai was as comfortable as she could be walking with Natsuki, even in front of her younger brother. He still had questions in his own head as to why they decided to showcase it then, because it had already been common knowledge around campus for a week. Still, seeing his sister happy made Takumi happy, even when she managed to use her free hand to give him a hard noogie when no one else was paying attention.

"Were you really serious about being part of the choir next year, sis?" he asked.

"Well, why not?" she said. "I think it would look good on my college résumé, don't you?"

"But you still have your job at the diner to worry about. Are you sure you'll have enough free time to do both?"

"Yeah. Mikoto says she only has to go over to the church to practice on weekends. I can handle that."

"Hey!" Natsuki's cheeks blushed bright red. "You're supposed to be her little brother! Don't encourage her to overwork herself."

Takumi chuckled. "Trust me, Natsuki. I've tried in the past. Once Mai puts her mind to something, she won't stop until she's finished with it."

"That's right," said Mai. "It's just like the motto of a certain _other_ someone I know so well."

She lightly kissed Natsuki on the lips, and then turned to her little brother and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Come on. We'll all go to Takumi's for lunch today. You don't mind cooking today, do you, Takumi?"

Natsuki liked the sound of that. A freshly-cooked lunch would give her a chance to take her mind off the loss of her mother for a while. She admired the fact that Mai and Takumi were able to get along without their parents guiding them. If they could do it together, she could surely do it herself.


	22. It's All Junk

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Well, I'll be damned. This little story got recommended for a C2 community. I'm both surprised and flattered that a story of mine has gotten this attention. Many thanks go out to whoever recommended it._

_As for this chapter, I couldn't think of something compelling enough to fit both Mai and Natsuki in as a follow-up to #21, so I went ahead and added this chapter with just Mai and her friends (romance doesn't exist in a vacuum, you know). #23 will probably be a Natsuki-centric chapter, and the rest will feature the two of them together, for sure._

_(Insert standard disclaimer about Mai-HiME not belonging to me and stuff here.) _

* * *

**Day 22 - It's All Junk**  
Theme #27 - Overflow

After a hard day's work at the cafe, Mai went to the school's computer lab to check her e-mail, expecting a response from her English teacher on a homework assignment she was given earlier in the day. When she went to log in, she noticed that her inbox had reached its capacity.

"That's odd," she said. "I don't remember sending out that many e-mails. Who in the world would want to send all of these messages to me?"

To her disappointment, Mai's inbox was filled with messages. Only a few of them were from people she knew, while the rest were from unknown senders with equally varied and confusing subject headers. She had extreme difficulty wading through the morass to find the response she wanted.

"Ugh...why can't I find the message I need?" she cried. She turned to Yukino, who was sitting in a chair to her right. Yukino was fiddling with her own e-mail account, and at the same time carrying on a chat-room conversation with Shizuru, Haruka, and other members of the executive committee. "Yukino!"

"What is it, Mai-san?" asked Yukino.

"I can't find a message from my teacher," said Mai. "What's going on here?"

Yukino peeked over at Mai's computer screen, seeing for herself the myriad messages advertising get-rich-quick schemes, chain letters, and "guaranteed" one night stands with "hot guys".

"Oh, my!" she said. "Looks like you've become the victim of a spam dump. How often do you clean out your mailbox?"

"I like to hold on to my old messages, in case I need them for something," said Mai. "I clean it out once a week. I always figured that the spam filters would take care of the rest."

"That doesn't always work. I mean, the spam filters are usually reliable, but they don't catch everything."

"But there's so much clicking that I have to do to get rid of all this crap...and my fingers can't move that fast."

"Maybe I can help."

Yukino moved over to Mai's screen again, this time sorting through the majority of useless messages that had infiltrated her inbox. Yukino's hands moved swiftly across the keyboard as she scanned for the most obvious of bad messages, clicking the checkboxes next to them faster than Mai's eyes could follow. Her concentration was unbroken as she moved deeper into the inbox, zapping old junk messages she may have missed on the first go-round. By the time Yukino had finished her job, Mai's mailbox was cleaned to a more manageable 60 capacity.

"Thanks, Yukino," said Mai.

"No problem," said Yukino as she returned to her online conversation.

Mai sat back in her chair and looked through her messages again, but only managed to find old chat logs between her, Chie and Aoi, and still no sign of the message she was looking for.

"Hey, Aoi-chan," she said to the girl sitting on her left side.

Aoi Senou turned to Mai, giggling at a piece of gossip Chie had shown her from a celebrity news website. "Something wrong, Mai?" she asked.

"Did you hear anything from Izumi-sensei about today's English assignment?"

"No, actually," she said. "I didn't get anything from him. What about you, Chie-chan?"

"Hmm...I think I might have something here," said Chie. "He said we had to hand-write a five-hundred-word essay about our personal experience at Fuuka Academy by Thursday."

"Five hundred?" said Mai. "That's a lot of writing."

"It's to be expected for a class like this. Izumi's no different than the rest of the teachers. He just wants us all to work hard. As soon as I finish up here, I'm going back to my room to get started on mine."

"You should let me help," said Aoi. "I'm starting to get pretty good at proofreading."

"Thanks, Aoi," said Chie, "but I don't think Izumi-sensei would let you do that. He wants us to resist the temptation to add our own memories to those of other people."

"Oh...I see."

A small text bubble popped up in the lower-right corner of Mai's monitor. It was a message from Natsuki: "Why, hello there."

Mai typed a response: "Hi, Natsuki. How'd you get to a computer so fast? Weren't you, um...taking a stroll just a few minutes ago?"

Yukino and Aoi peeked over Mai's shoulder to see what she was writing about. Mai covered up the monitor and looked around frantically, attempting to protect herself from prying eyes, even though she hadn't started typing anything juicy yet.

"You guys!" she said. "This is a private conversation!"

"Oh...we're sorry." Aoi and Yukino giggled, and then went back to focus on their own work.

"I was," Natsuki responded, "but I had to return to my room to pick up something."

"What was it?"

"A camera."

"A camera?"

"Yes. I was going to take some pictures while I was out on my walk."

"And what are these pictures going to be used for, Natsuki?"

"Can't tell you now, Mai. That's a surprise."

"Okay, but it had better be a good one."

"Trust me...you'll like it. Anyway, I need to go. I'll see you at dinner time, okay?"

"All right. Be careful out there."

Though she wasn't physically close enough to Natsuki to give her an actual kiss, Mai punctuated her last message with the letters "XO" to let Natsuki know that she was still loved. She logged out of all of the programs she was using and took her book bag with her, preparing to leave.

"Where are you going, Mai-san?" asked Yukino.

"Probably out to the garden to relax," said Mai. "I need a good quiet spot to concentrate if I'll ever get this essay done."

"Can I come with you? I have to meet with Haruka and the others after this anyway."

"Sure."

Yukino shut down her laptop and took it with her as she left the computer lab with Mai, saying goodbye to Chie and Aoi on her way out. They walked toward the student council room side-by side, stopping occasionally to look around as the other students walked toward their dorm rooms.

"This essay you were talking about earlier...what do you plan to write about?"

"I don't know," said Mai. "I guess I could put in something about how Takumi and I got here...but that wouldn't really be enough to fill the page, though."

"You could always write something about Natsuki-san."

"Huh?"

"I mean, the two of you did become close friends pretty quickly, right? I think if I had your assignment, I'd probably write a few lines about myself and Haruka."

At that moment, Mai wondered whether or not Yukino's relationship with Haruka paralleled the one she found herself in with Natsuki. Yukino wasn't fond of talking about personal matters, and Mai didn't want to pry, for fear she'd find herself on the receiving end of another "stealth announcement" campaign.

"Do you think he'd really go for it?" she asked.

"I don't see why not. It was a 'turning point' of sorts for you."

They entered the building and walked past the infirmary and toward the student council room, where Shizuru and the others were waiting for Yukino. Yukino waved to Mai and then sat down next to Haruka.

"Thanks for your help today, Yukino," said Mai.

"You're welcome, Mai-san," said Yukino. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here for a while?"

"No, thanks. I really need to get this essay started."

Mai left the building and walked toward the flower garden by herself. A group of students had already filled up the gazebo for a private club meeting, so she had to take a spot somewhere on the grass where she could begin her writing. Without Natsuki next to her to help channel ideas, Mai had to draw upon her earlier memories, which she admitted to be a bit fuzzy. The initial, abrupt kiss had changed a lot between them. She didn't remember any of the fighting before that, but kept memories of the friendliness and warmth that followed. It wasn't a complete picture, but at least it gave Mai something to work with for her story, and something to write down until Natsuki returned from her trip.


	23. Her New Mission

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes: All right! Only seven more chapters to go. Natsuki's not quite sure what's gotten Mai so stressed out lately, and while she wishes she could be there with Mai to sort things out, she has to find her own way to relax (and no, it's not at the bar). A little bit light on action, but this is actually Akira and Mikoto's night to play, so we'll let them do the dirty work.  
_

_Mai-HiME was created in a lab by some guys and dolls at a company called Sunrise. I am not one of those guys or dolls._

* * *

**Day 23 - Her New Mission**  
Theme #20 - The Road Home

Every time Natsuki closed her eyes, she recalled the first time she told Mai that she loved her. It was a tense time for the pair...a swarm of Orphans surrounding them and taking everybody by surprise, and uncertainty whether or not either of them would have survived the encounter. Had Natsuki not fired that initial shot, the results would have been far different. She wouldn't have been able to look at herself the same way again if she failed to protect someone in a time of need.

With each kiss they shared, and with every time they embraced, she was reminded of what it felt like to care for someone else. She still had designs to take down the organization responsible for her mother's death, but now she knew she wouldn't be able to do it alone. Natsuki wanted Mai's help now more than she ever thought she would. That way, she could be close enough to Mai to keep an eye on her and protect her.

In order to do that, Natsuki needed to find a way back home.

She spent the last hour at the arcade downtown, whittling her time and spare change away playing fighting games against the regulars. After she tired of them accusing her of cheating, Natsuki tried her luck at the claw vending machines in the corner near the restroom. She managed to win a pair of hand-sized Pac-Man ghost puppets for herself and her girlfriend, ensuring that she wouldn't walk away from her trip empty-handed.

Her hour of fun completed, Natsuki returned to her motorcycle and prepared to get back on the road. A trail of thick gray clouds rolled in from the east, so she made a point to herself to get moving as quickly as possible before it started raining. Luckily for her, traffic was light enough for her to keep up a comfortable pace on the coastal highway, and she made it back to the campus just after the first raindrops fell.

Natsuki took care to secure her motorcycle by chaining it to a thick lamppost near the center of the parking lot before entering the campus proper. Once she started walking down the main road, she saw a trio of knives land at her feet. Fearing that someone had infiltrated Fuuka Academy in her absence, she drew her guns and searched the area for her assailant, moving slowly and hiding in the shadows to avoid detection. She picked up the trail of a shadowy figure leaping through the trees, and chased it all the way to the chapel. The shadow disappeared, and Natsuki searched the area around her to see where it had gone. She barely got the fire a shot off before something landed behind her and held a sword to her throat.

"Who are you?" a husky voice asked. "What are you doing outside on Fuuka Academy property at such a late hour?"

"Who wants to know?" asked Natsuki.

The figure behind her had no need for further questions.

"Remove your helmet."

"It's kind of hard to do that with my arms bound."

"I said, 'remove your helmet'."

Natsuki complied with the figure's wishes, slowly removing her helmet and smacking her captor in the head with it to free herself. She turned around and saw a green-haired ninja fall to the ground and flip back into a fighting pose after pushing off with one hand.

"Well played," said Natsuki. "I didn't think I'd be caught by surprise this easily."

"You were just a step too slow tonight, weren't you, Kuga?" mocked the ninja.

Natsuki was shocked again. She had never seen this mysterious person anywhere on campus, or anywhere during her frequent trips to the city, and had no idea how this stranger knew her name. "Hold on!" she protested. "How did you know it was me?"

"That's none of your business."

When she heard the ninja's voice again, it started to make sense to Natsuki. It was Tuesday patrol night, and Mikoto was nowhere in the area. The weapon held by her opponent was too small to belong to Mikoto, as well. The hair, the short stature, and the huskiness of the stranger's voice left only one other possibility.

"You're probably right," Natsuki said with a smug smirk, "but I'm sure you have better things to do right now, don't you...Akira Okuzaki?"

Akira recoiled. Her cover had been blown, but she continued to converse with Natsuki as if the other girl hadn't seen through her disguise.

"Maybe," she said, "but you still haven't answered my other question. What are you doing out here this late at night by yourself?"

"I just went out to the arcade for a little while," said Natsuki. "I was going to come back."

"You sure took long enough."

Natsuki looked around, noticing that something was amiss. "What happened to Minagi, anyway?"

"She kept complaining about not getting enough food before coming out here, so she left."

"Figures."

Akira hid her sword behind her back. "It doesn't matter. I can handle this on my own."

"Have you found anything yet?" asked Natsuki. She put her guns away after deciding that Akira was no longer a potential threat to her health.

"No Orphans detected in this area," said Akira. "I'll search the other end of the school to see if I missed any. Please move out of the way."

"But what if--"

Akira dashed down the road past the chapel, bumping into Natsuki and almost knocking her over. Natsuki ignored the young ninja and headed toward the girls' dorm, where she was almost knocked over again by an energized Mikoto Minagi charging out the door with her sword on her back.

"Did everybody go crazy shortly after I left?" Natsuki said to herself. She felt a yawn coming on, and her walking pace became sluggish, so she ambled to her bedroom while trying her best to stand upright. When she walked into the bedroom, she saw Takumi tucking his big sister into bed.

"How's Mai doing?" asked Natsuki.

"She went to sleep a little while ago," said Takumi. "I think she's getting stressed out from all the work she's doing, but she wouldn't tell me anything. A few moments after she invited me over, I guess she kinda...crashed out."

"Did she get anything to eat?"

"I tried making some spaghetti for the two of us to eat. It's not as easy as it looks on TV," he said with a nervous chuckle. "Mikoto came by earlier to try some, and she had two whole bowls worth."

Natsuki was stunned, but she knew that Takumi wouldn't joke about something like that, as she also witnessed Mikoto's eating habits firsthand on a daily basis. "That explains why she's so energetic now."

Takumi got up from Mai's bed and grabbed his umbrella. "I should probably head back to my dorm now," he said.

"Don't you want someone to walk back with you? There might still be Orphans lurking about."

"It's all right...I'll just wait for Akira to get finished. It shouldn't be much longer now. Good night, Natsuki!"

The boy left the bedroom with his jacket dangling from his right arm, waving to Natsuki on the way out._He'd better put that jacket on soon,_ she thought. _If the Orphans don't get him, the rain certainly will._

She took a look at the face of the girl sleeping in the bed next to her. Even when she appeared to be stressed out, Mai continued to force herself to put on a happy face. Natsuki knew that Mai probably wouldn't see it until morning, but she placed the orange Pac-Man ghost into the sleeping girl's hands.

_Sleep tight, Mai...we still have a long road ahead of us. If anything bad should happen, I'll be here to fight with you. I promise._

Natsuki slipped out of her biker gear and changed into her nightgown, clutching her blue ghost puppet as she went to sleep, trying to keep her mind fresh for the next day's usual madness.


	24. Ripple

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes: Uh-oh...two weeks since I last posted a chapter? That can't be good. No matter...I'm almost at the end, and so I must press forward! Perhaps I needed to take a break for a bit, anyway...and so apparently did Mai and Natsuki._

_The silliness between them, Yuuichi and Shizuru in this chapter is all my idea. The _Mai-HiME_ series as a whole, however, is not._

* * *

**Day 24 - Ripple**  
Theme #29 - The sound of waves

It had been a while since Mai and Yuuichi sat at the same lunch table. Yuuichi had been called to the student council room for "official business" on several different occasions, but he never revealed the information from those meetings to Mai, Shiho, or anyone outside of the student council circle. Shizuru made an appearance in the cafeteria for the first time in what seemed like ages. Most of the students' eyes were fixed on her, as they were surprised to see her outside the student council room during a time of high traffic. She sat at a table and talked with Natsuki for a while, occasionally looking at Yuuichi at the other table. Mai had her eyes on Yuuichi, as well, and the sudden attention from both of them was making him nervous.

"Come on, Tate-kun," said Mai. "Spill it. What have they got you doing in there during lunch hours?"

"I told you, I can't tell," he said, "not with Fujino around, anyway."

"Why's that? There some super-secret project that she and Kanzaki have you working on that you can't tell us about?"

"No."

"Well, if it's not that bad, then you can tell me. I'm good at keeping secrets."

Yuuichi smiled and waved a finger in the air. "Oh, no you don't," he said. "Kanzaki told me you'd try something like that. Well, that's not going to work on me."

"Is that so? If you don't trust me to keep a secret that small, then I'm sure you wouldn't mind me letting the school know about your recent excursion with a certain pink-haired 'little sister' of yours."

"Be quiet!" Yuuichi clamped his hand over Mai's mouth to prevent her from spilling the beans about him and Shiho. "I keep telling you, it's not like that!"

"Riiiight. And don't you try pulling that same trick on me, mister. I don't have anything to hide."

"I wasn't going to," said Yuuichi. "Just trust me for once, okay, Mai?"

Mai sighed. "Fine. Could you at least give me a hint? If you do that for me, I'll stop bugging you about it."

"Something concerning the Golden Week festival. That's all I can say without spoiling anything."

Mai looked away from Yuuichi and ate the _umeboshi_ in her box of rice, quickly following it with a big gulp of water to reduce the burning. "This had better be a damn good surprise."

While Mai and Yuuichi traded not-quite-secrets, Shizuru continued her conversation with Natsuki on a completely unrelated topic.

"So, have you decided what you're going to do for summer vacation, Natsuki?" she asked.

"Not yet," said Natsuki as she closed her lunch box. "I don't know where I want to go. I _need_ to get some disposable income so that I can have some actual fun this year."

"You're thinking of getting a summer job, huh?"

"Probably. I might be able to make some quick cash down at the video arcade."

"Would I get a prize if I beat you in a game?"

Natsuki cracked a half-smile toward Shizuru. "Maybe..._if_ you can beat me."

"You seem pretty confident...but you should know better than anyone else that I know _all_ the right buttons to push," she said, mimicking controller motions and air-poking Natsuki.

"On second thought, I wonder if Tokiha's place is hiring. They probably have better food there, anyway."

Natsuki no longer felt hungry, so she got up from her table and sat down in a chair between Yuuichi and Mai. Shizuru followed behind, trying to squeeze between Yuuichi, Natsuki, and the back wall in a way that allowed her to see everyone else, but prevented others from tripping up as they walked behind her chair. The last thing she wanted to be responsible for was another student's injury, especially when her friends were watching.

"Hey there, Natsuki...s-Shizuru-san," said Mai, clumsily trying to avoid using the word "sweetie" in front of the two new arrivals to her lunch table. "Are you two finished already?"

"Yeah," said Shizuru. "Natsuki and I were just talking about our plans for summer vacation."

"Well, she told me her plans," said Natsuki, pushing her chair closer to the table. "I still haven't made up my mind yet."

"I know what I'm going to do," Yuuichi said with confidence. "I'm going to hit the beach. You know...watch the waves roll in, get myself a nice sun-kissed tan, and build one of those _really_ big sand castles, like those kids on TV."

"You sure about that, Tate?" asked Natsuki. "Just be careful that the ocean water doesn't knock it over."

"Ha! Mother Nature won't stop my sculpting," he said.

"Hey, that sounds like a great idea," said Shizuru. "I bought a new swimsuit I've just been dying to try out. I'm also anxious to see how well you ladies look in your swimsuits, too."

Natsuki blushed. "Huh? Who said I was going?"

"Nobody said you _had_ to go, Natsuki," said Mai, "but it would be nice if you came along with us." She slowly and quietly reached for Natsuki's hand under the table and grasped it to let her know that she was serious.

"Yeah, Kuga, you should go," said Yuuichi. "I'm sure you'd be relieved not to have to worry about the stressful crap at school."

"First off all, I'm not stressed out," said Natsuki. "And second, I'd prefer that you used my first name when addressing me. It gets awkward just being called 'Kuga' all the time."

"I don't see you taking the effort to learn _my_ first name. We've known each other for a while now, and I think it would be nice if you gave me the same courtesy."

"That's because you never asked me until just a few moments ago."

Yuuichi wrote his name down on a sheet of paper and handed it to Natsuki. "Here...it's not that hard to say," he said. "Just two characters - 'yuu' and 'ichi'."

Natsuki tried pronouncing the name a few times. "I knew it all along," she said. "Now say my name, Ta--I mean, Yuuichi."

"Yeah, _Yuuichi_," Mai teased. "Go ahead."

Yuuichi gulped hard, but regained his confidence quickly and met the girls' challenge. "Okay, _Natsuki._ Now that we both know each other's names, I guess this makes us friends...sort of." He reached out to she Natsuki's hand, and she reluctantly accepted.

As the afternoon bell rang, the four friends cleaned up the table and said goodbye, with Mai and Natsuki leaving toward the stairwell to the second floor, and Yuuichi following behind them. Shizuru got up from her chair and headed toward a classroom on the first floor. She stood outside the door and pulled out her notepad and chemistry textbook, wondering whether Yuuichi had leaked anything to Mai. It was hard enough distracting Natsuki, but she argued it had to be done in order to keep the secret safe, no matter how much Shizuru trusted her. No one else was to know about the plans for the festival until the official e-mail was sent out on the weekend if everything was to go as scheduled. As quickly as gossip spread through Fuuka Academy, one loose false secret would be bad enough to ruin the fun, and Shizuru didn't want to be responsible for that, either.


	25. Chasing a Shadow

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: After watching episodes 11 and 12, I wondered to myself...why can't anybody else ever see what it is that Sister Yukariko winds up poking with her arrows? Then I remembered...it's the CHILD. Of course! This is still partly being told from Natsuki and Mai's point of view, so unfortunately they don't get to see Yukariko fighting the Orphan in this chapter, although they do hear the cries. Summoning magic is weird like that, I guess._

_So yeah...always a _Mai-HiME_ fan, never a _Mai-HiME_ writer. Them's the breaks._

* * *

**Day 25 - Chasing a Shadow**  
Theme #17 - kHz (kilohertz)

Natsuki sat behind one of the trees near the central garden, crouched down as lowly as possible to reduce the chance of anyone seeing her. It wasn't her night to patrol, but she wanted an excuse to get out of her dorm and fiddle with the new walkie-talkie she borrowed from Yukino the previous night. She twisted a dial on the device and pressed the red button on the side and started talking. "Do you see anything out there?"

"The south side of the campus is clear," said the voice of Sister Yukariko.

Yukariko continued her investigation around the chapel area, but did not manage to spot anything out of the ordinary. She found Alyssa sitting on the steps of the chapel, clutching her knees and staring at the grass. "Alyssa?" she asked.

Alyssa plucked a handful of weeds from the ground and scattered them to the wind. A few stray blades of grass flew into her face, leaving a bad taste in her mouth and giving her a kiss she wanted to try hard to forget.

"Is there something wrong?" Yukariko asked again.

"I don't know if I'm cut out for this," replied the young singer.

"What do you mean?"

"The headmaster wanted me to assist you, but there really isn't much I can do. I mean, I'm not equipped to do any fighting. I don't even have a weapon."

"This does present a small dilemma. Don't you have someone to protect you? I would hate to see you get hurt or anything."

"Yes...but unfortunately, she's not here at the moment."

Yukariko picked up her bow and sat next to Alyssa, attempting to get the young girl to smile. "Don't worry. I'll do what I can to ensure your safety."

"Thanks, Sister," said Alyssa. "I'll try not to be a burden to you."

The two of them got up and cautiously searched around the chapel again, with Yukariko staying as close to Alyssa as possible. A sudden noise in the bushes startled the duo, but upon careful investigation, it was merely the wind picking up speed from the east. Yukariko took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves, but was broken out of her tranquility again by the sound of her walkie-talkie.

"What about the girl?"

"You mean Alyssa?" replied Yukariko. "She's with me."

"Good. Don't let her out of your sight."

Yukariko looked into Alyssa's eyes, wondering if such a young girl was capable of doing any harm. "I won't."

As Natsuki got up to examine the area around the girls' dorm, she nearly bumped into Mai, who was looking around in the dark without the aid of a flashlight.

"Mai!" said Natsuki. "Watch where you're going!"

Mai recoiled in shock when Natsuki shined a flashlight in her face. "Sorry about that," she said. "You went outside a little while ago and didn't come back for dinner. I got worried, so I came out here looking for you."

"I'll be back in once I've finished doing my work. Is there any food left over?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Mikoto ate all of it."

Mai pointed to the walkie-talkie in Natsuki's hand. "Say...what are you doing out here with that thing, anyway?"

"Surveillance," Natsuki replied.

"But it isn't even our turn tonight."

"It's been too quiet lately, and I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen. You can never be too careful in a place like this."

"Come on, Natsuki...I think you're working yourself a little too hard tonight. Why don't you put that down for a little while and come back to the room? A nice hot meal will do you some good."

Natsuki was only given a few seconds to consider her roommate's advice before her walkie-talkie sounded again.

"Hello?" Yukariko's voice sounded calm, but there was a hint of anxiety behind it, almost impossible to pick up from the static.

"Sister Yukariko!" Natsuki shouted. "Where are you?"

"I'm still outside the chapel. One of those...monsters...got to Alyssa."

"They're even attacking little girls?" asked Mai. "That's just cruel."

"Stay right there," Natsuki said to Yukariko. "Help is on the way."

Natsuki drew one of her guns and prepared to run toward the chapel, beckoning Mai to come along with her. "We've got trouble. It looks like the Orphans are making their move again."

"Wait a minute!" Mai protested. "Are you really going to go after that thing?"

"She said that one of them attacked Alyssa out of nowhere. If it gets to Yukariko, someone else needs to be on hand to bring it down."

"And I guess that 'someone' has to be us, right?"

Mai readied her Element and got a running start before entering flight mode to avoid wearing out her legs. She flew alongside Natsuki down a beaten brick path until the two of them reached the church. They searched the area for Yukariko and Alyssa, examining bushes and trees to find the two women, but they were nowhere to be found.

"Damn!" Natsuki said in disgust. "We're too late."

"Do you think the monster got to Sister Yukariko, too?" asked Mai.

"I hope not. She has to be around here somewhere. Keep searching."

While the girls continued to look around, a guttural scream sounded somewhere nearby, but neither of them could place the source. Mai and Natsuki stood close together and readied their weapons, prepared for the beast to strike them at any time. Instead, they were treated to more invisible monster screaming and the sound of labored breathing. When it was all finished and the chaos had subsided, Yukariko came out stumbling from behind a tree. Her bow had disappeared, and she carried an unconscious Alyssa in her arms and a melancholy expression on her face. The young girl's clothes were ripped apart, exposing cuts and bruises on her legs and torso.

"I don't know how that thing found us," said Yukariko. "It came from behind one of the bushes and scratched Alyssa. We managed to wrestle it off before it could do any more damage, but I guess she must have passed out from the shock. I couldn't let it hurt either of us any further, so I just prayed and fired a few shots to scare it off."

Mai bent down over Alyssa's body and checked her vital signs. "Her pulse and breathing are still normal," she said, "but we should definitely take her to the infirmary and have her checked out."

"That would certainly be the best course of action."

As Yukariko picked Alyssa up again, the young girl opened up her eyes and lifted her head to see the nun and the other two girls surrounding her. "Oww...what happened?" she said weakly.

"You were attacked by one of those monsters," said Yukariko. "but it's gone now. We're going to get you some help. The nurse will take good care of you."

"Thank you. I'm sorry...Sister..."

Alyssa quietly went back to sleep, hoping to save what was left of her strength for her eventual visit to the nurse's office.

"Are you all right?" asked Natsuki.

"I think I'll be fine," said Yukariko. "Perhaps I should pay a visit to the nurse myself."

"We wanted to help out as soon as we heard the screaming, but we couldn't figure out where it was coming from."

"I appreciate your help, and I'm glad that you two managed to come when you did."

"Thanks," said Mai. "We wish we could have gotten here faster, though."

She had barely managed to dodge the kiss of death that night, but Yukariko continued to hold her head up as she walked toward the main building with Mai and Natsuki in tow. They were all glad that no one else had gotten seriously injured in the battle, but wondered what would have transpired if they had reached the site sooner...and who would break the news to Miyu.


	26. Mischief Never Sleeps

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes: Hmm...this one ran kinda long. Now that I've posted it, I feel bad that I won't be able to resolve these hanging threads before the end. Even though this was only intended for 30 chapters, there'll still be things going on after the story is concluded. That was naturally intended, too, I guess._

_26 episodes in, and Mai-HiME still isn't mine. If this fic were an actual television show, this chapter would probably be the season/series finale._

* * *

**Day 26: Mischief Never Sleeps**  
Theme #18: "Say ahh..."

It was time once again for class to begin. Everyone in class 1-A had taken their seats to prepare for the start of first period. Mai sat in her usual seat by the window, trying her hardest to forget what she had seen last night near the chapel grounds. She still felt guilty about not being able to come to Alyssa's aid in time before the Orphan attack. It wasn't really something she wanted to get involved in that night, but part of her duty as a HiME was to protect. She promised Takumi that she would watch over him, and she made a similar vow to Mashiro for the good of the school, as much as she loathed the idea of fighting monsters as a secondary job.

A few seconds after Midori entered the room, Miyu walked up to Mai's desk. She didn't appear visibly angry, but Mai couldn't tell the difference either way, because Miyu rarely ever smiled. "Good morning, Mai," said Miyu.

Mai broke out of her contemplative trance and looked away from the window to face Miyu. "Oh...good morning, Miyu," said Mai. "How is Alyssa doing? Have you talked to her recently?"

"Alyssa's injuries are recovering adequately. Perhaps it was a mistake to allow her to go on these patrols late at night."

"I tried the best I could...I really did."

"I'm not blaming you. Father ordered me to watch over her at all times, but we were both rebuffed by the headmaster, who insisted on putting Alyssa in this program without our consent."

Both Mai and Miyu understood that Alyssa was still young, and would have trouble leaning on older faculty members as authority figures, but were confident that one day she would warm up to them and let them get to know her. "When I see Alyssa later today," Miyu continued, "I'm going with her to speak directly to the headmaster so that this problem does not come up again."

"Are you sure you want to do that so soon?" asked Mai.

"It is for her own safety. If she were to get hurt on duty again, it would have a negative impact on her school work. I want to make sure that she has a bright future here, and I will do whatever it takes to make that happen."

Miyu nodded toward Mai and returned to her seat, maintaining her stoic expression. Her constant frown served as a defense mechanism to keep others out of her personal business unless she was willing to share it with them. Just then, Midori finished setting her papers down and turned to address the class with the same enthusiasm that one would give when a baseball player hit the winning home run for his team.

"Hello there, everyone!" she said. Her mood was far different than that of the students; one half of the class had their heads on their desks, while the other half was still engaged in random conversation. She tapped one of the erasers against the chalkboard to get their attention, a technique generally less irritating and effective than using her fingernails. A few hits was all it took to get everyone to face forward and focus on her. "Good. Now that I know everyone's alive and well, I'd like to direct your attention to page 97, where we'll continue our lesson on the Edo period and the rise of the Tokugawa shogunate."

Almost everyone in the class let out a collective groan as they searched their bags for their textbooks. Mai peered underneath her desk and saw something peeking out at her. She couldn't make out what kind of creature it was, as all she could see were an eye and an amorphous black form. Not wanting to cause panic within the classroom, she kept quiet and ignored the creature. With her textbook open to the appropriate page, Mai was ready to listen to Midori's lecture. The creature saw a perfect opportunity to strike, and scratched Mai on the ankle. She couldn't keep her composure for long, and let out a yelp that alerted everyone around her.

"What's wrong, Mai-chan?" asked Chie.

"Something...scratched me."

Chie looked down around Mai's desk to look for the culprit, but couldn't find the monster that Mai claimed to have seen. "Hmm...whatever it was appears to be gone now," she said. "Could it have been a rat?"

"No," said Mai. "It certainly didn't look like one."

"That's strange. These classrooms have always been clean before. I wonder where it came from. The thing that scratched you, that is."

Midori looked around the classroom to find the source of the disturbance. "Is something the matter, Mai?" she asked. "I hope I'm not boring you."

"No, no, Midori-sensei," said Mai. "Everything's fine."

"It doesn't sound like everything's fine."

The rest of the class looked on as Midori drew closer to Mai's desk. She saw Mai covering her ankle with her right hand, and noticed a small spot of blood on her skin. "Let me see that."

Mai removed her hand, revealing a trio of small, but deep scratch marks. She looked at the spot of blood on her hand and started freaking out. "That little--!"

"Relax, Mai," said Midori, wrapping a small paper towel around Mai's ankle. "It's just a small wound. You'll recover in no time...but you might still want to get that checked out at the infirmary before it gets worse."

"Can I go with her?" asked Chie.

"I don't see why not...but be back in five minutes, okay?"

Chie nodded, and left the classroom with Mai to head toward the infirmary. As they walked down the hall, Mai saw another of the creatures that had attacked her slide across the ground. She tracked it and watched the creature disappear underneath one of the exits to the building. "I think I'm seeing things again," she groaned.

"Another one?" Chie barely missed the creature again, so she assumed that Mai was talking about another rat. "Maybe it's time we called someone to have this place cleaned out."

Mai chuckled nervously as she reached for the door of the nurse's office. "Thanks for your help, Chie-chan," she said. "If I don't make it back, could you send me a copy of the homework assignment?"

"Sure thing. I doubt we'll get one, since it's close to the holiday weekend and all, but if we do, I'll get it for you. Later!"

Chie waved toward Mai as she made her way back to the classroom. Nurse Youko got up from her desk and inspected Mai, noticing the blood-stained paper towel on her ankle. "Hello, Mai," she said in a soft tone. "I've been expecting you. Please, come in."

Mai sat down on the bed closest to the window and allowed the nurse to take a look at the wound. It had stopped bleeding for the time being, but the scratch marks were still clearly visible. "It looks like that creature got you pretty good," she said.

"Yeah...it caught me by surprise. I just went to grab one of my books, and then it came out of nowhere and attacked me."

"That's odd. I just treated Natsuki earlier for a similar injury about fifteen minutes ago. She described a similar situation when she came from her class, except hers was on her right arm...not the ankle."

_This is too weird,_ thought Mai, _and not in a good way. I hope she's all right..._

Youko applied a small helping of iodine to the wound with a cotton swab, and then wrapped it with a light cloth bandage where the paper towel used to be. "Be very careful not to let anything else touch that area for a while, okay?"

"I will."

No sooner did Mai put her sock and shoe back on than she heard a group of boys and girls screaming from outside. She looked out the window and saw more of the creatures that had attacked her. They all fused together into a monstrous singularity that was roughly the size of the classroom building. It took a few steps forward and took a giant swing with one of its fists, punching a hole in the wall. Mai got up from the bed and dashed out the door as quickly as she could. "Sorry, but I have to go now," she said frantically.

"But, Mai!" said Youko. "What about your--?"

Another swing from the creature nearly punched out the windows in the infirmary. Youko saw that as a cue to get out of her office and head to the nearest safe area.

Back in room 1-A, Midori tried to calm down the students as the giant Orphan continued to make a mess of things.

"What the hell's going on?" asked Yuuichi. "A monster attack at this hour?"

"This is a peculiar situation, indeed," replied Midori, "but don't worry. I'll put a stop to this one!"

The class looked at her incredulously, and then left for shelter in the basement, fearing that the monster would close in on them next.

"Man...I didn't know teachers could be so hot-blooded."

Yuuichi looked around the classroom, and noticed that just about everybody had gone on without him. One of the windows had been left open, and Midori went charging toward the giant beast with her axe in hand.

"Wait a sec...what happened to Tokiha?"

As he left, he saw Mai running past him toward the exit. "Hey, where are you going?" he asked her, pointing in the opposite direction. "The shelter's that way!"

"I've got a job to do," she said. "That..._thing_ outside is going to kill us all if we don't stop it!"

"I hope you know what you're doing, Mai," said Yuuichi.

"I promise, Tate-kun, that I won't let you, or anybody else get hurt while I'm on duty."

* * *

When Mai got outside, she saw Midori and Natsuki engaged in combat with the Orphan. Natsuki had a bandage wrapped around her hand, but was able to several shots toward the creature without hurting herself.

"Natsuki!" said a delighted Mai. "You're okay!"

Mai wrapped her arms around Natsuki, but was slightly saddened when the hug wasn't returned this time around.

"This isn't a good time, Mai!" Natsuki groaned. "Right now, we have to lure this creature away from the building before it hurts any more people."

"Okay."

Mai armed herself with her magical magatama rings and sprang into action.

"Hit it with something! That should distract it long enough to get everybody to safety."

"Uh, Natsuki," said Midori, "I already took care of that."

"Oh," Natsuki said quietly.

Mai thrusted her arms forward and shot a stream of fire at the Orphan. The attack barely did any visible damage, but it got the Orphan to slowly turn around and focus on the HiME.

"Now! Make a break for it!" Natsuki ordered.

"You want us to run away?" asked Midori.

"Trust me. It's all part of the plan."

Midori shrugged, and then summoned her CHILD, Gakutenou, hopping aboard and pointing her chariot creature toward the athletic field. Natsuki called forth Duran and activated its flight mode. Mai's CHILD was far too large to be used effectively in such a small space, so she took to the air on her own. "Come and get us, you fiend!" Midori taunted as the Orphan lumbered toward the girls, knocking over poles and stomping on benches. They allowed it to chase them for about a mile until they reached an uninhabited field out of harm's way. Once the creature though it had them cornered, it threw another punch at Natsuki. Mai swooped down to intercept the punch with her flame shield, but the force from the collision knocked Mai down and sent her crashing into her girlfriend.

"Sorry," said Mai.

Natsuki carefully got herself off the ground, giving Mai a quick smile as if to say "thanks". The Orphan lunged at them again, and while it had its fist in the air, Midori ran in from behind and hacked away at one of its legs with her axe. She, Mai and Natsuki quickly discussed a plan to bring the beast down. First, Mai blasted the beast with a constant stream of fire. The Orphan shrugged off most of the damage, but the excess heat it built up from defending itself against Mai's attack left it open for Natsuki to hit it with a barrage of ice crystals from Duran's cannons. With its defenses lowered, Midori jumped back onto Gakutenou and charged full speed at the Orphan, shredding both its legs and causing it to collapse. The other two girls jumped out of the way to avoid getting hit by flying debris when the Orphan's body hit the ground, and got back up to watch Midori plunge her axe into its abdomen for the killing blow.

"Midori-sensei! Watch out!" Mai shouted.

The creature's body pulsated and convulsed violently as its wound opened up. Midori leaped off its torso and ran to the girls' side, retaining her offensive stance just in case the creature tried to pick itself up and attack them again. However, the energy leaked from the wound became too much to bear, and the Orphan exploded, splattering black goo in every direction before quickly dissolving. Mai quickly put up her flame shield to block one clump that flew straight at her, but still got a small dousing on her face.

"Score another one for the good guys!" cheered Midori. "That was some fight, huh, girls?"

Mai wanted to bury her face in her hands, but it was still covered in monster gunk. "Yeah...but I still can't believe we have to do this every day."

"I don't know about you, but I like this sort of thing. Nothing gets my blood pumping faster than chasing after monsters and beating them senseless."

"It's not quite as easy as it looks when you have to do it for real."

Natsuki looked at Mai and prepared to clean the goo off her face with one of her hand towels. "Cutting it a little close there, aren't you, Mai?" she said jokingly. "Here. Let me fix that for you."

She used the towel to clean off a particularly sticky spot on Mai's right cheek, just realizing at that moment that their lips were just inches away from touching. Mai acknowledged her with a cheeky grin, and Natsuki slowly pulled away once she had completed her job, wondering if Midori was watching them.

"I think we've had enough excitement for one day," said Midori. "We'd better get back to the campus quickly before everyone thinks something bad happened to us."

* * *

Natsuki, Mai and Midori returned to the campus on foot, keeping their weapons and their CHILDs out of sight to avoid drawing any additional attention to themselves. By the time they got back, there was a large cluster of students gathered around the wreckage, trying to make sense of everything.

"Man! How did this happen?" asked one.

"And so close to Golden Week, too!" said another.

"Does this mean we're still going to have to do homework?" blurted out a third student.

A handful of the students ran over toward the three returning warriors to ask questions about what happened to the building. None of them had any immediate answers, instead opting to give the standard response of "We'll fill you in on the details later."

"Is everyone all right?" asked Natsuki.

"Yeah, I guess," replied Yuuichi. "No cuts or bruises or anything. But why'd you guys run off like that?"

"I told you," said Mai, "that I'd do my best to protect you guys...as long as I have this power."

Orphan attacks were nothing new to Mai, Natsuki and the other HiME, but it was the first time they had witnessed such an attack in the daytime. Though they were relieved to see their friends were mostly unharmed, they were also worried that another such incident before the weekend was inevitable. After exchanging relieved hugs, they all returned to what was left of the classroom building, waiting for the clean-up crew to arrive.


	27. Inn Security

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes: This is the first of four planned "breather chapters" to end the story. For the most part, the girls are assuming that all of the fighting is done for the month, so they can concentrate on the festivities for the next week at hand. They won't be described in great detail, as I'm largely unfamiliar with those customs, so they'll mostly focus on what the girls are doing at the moment. Ironically, I've spent more time thinking of ideas for these than I did with earlier ones. So much for a final burst of speed in the home stretch..._

_Mai, Natsuki, Akane, Kazuya, et al. are Sunrise creations. The unnamed receptionist and bellboy are mine, but they're mostly there for atmosphere. Sorry, guys._

* * *

**Day 27 - Inn Security**  
Theme #24: Good night

Class was canceled for the day due to reconstruction on the classroom building following the previous day's Orphan attack. Reports of the incident were not discussed in the local town newspaper, but were a hot topic among the students. A majority of them decided to stay in their dorms, while the others chose to go on with their normal club activities, ignoring the potential for another attack and choosing instead to have fun on their weekend.

Mai spent most of her afternoon at the Linden Baum, hoping that she would be able to get enough tip money to last her through the weekend. Traffic was lighter than she expected for a weekend, but she still got a handy helping of customers, even when she split her workload with Akane.

"You look exhausted, Mai-chan," said Akane. "Are you sure you don't want to take over for a little while?" She picked up one of the trays on a nearby table and brought it into the kitchen to wash at the sink, smiling at Kazuya as she passed the cash register.

"No, I'm fine," said Mai.

"Hmm...I figured you'd want to take the day off or something, considering what's been going on around the school."

"I would have, but I have to be at the Shrine later today."

"Oh, that's right," said Kazuya, processing an order for a family of three. "You're helping with the Festival next week, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Are you going to go, Kazuya?"

"Well, I hadn't thought about it. I was planning on staying in and doing a bit of organizing in my dorm. I have so many books that I still have to put away. It wouldn't be so bad if I actually used a lot of them."

Akane turned around and looked disapprovingly at her boyfriend. "You're really not going to go, Kazu-kun?" she asked. "There's going to be a lot of great food and games there. I wanted you to see me play for one of those big stuffed animals. I've been working on my overhand pitches, too. If I do score a hit, I promise I'll share one with you."

Kazuya paused for a moment to ponder Akane's proposal while he tallied another customer's order.

"Why not go with her, Kazuya?" asked Mai. "Besides...you'll have all week to worry about cleaning up. I'm sure a few of your roommates would be willing to help you out."

"I guess I _could_ use a day or two off," he said, nodding toward both girls. "All right, I'll do it. I'll only be able to come out for the first two days, though."

"That's good enough for me!" said Akane, kissing Kazuya lightly on the cheek before returning to the restaurant floor, satisfied that she had convinced him to go out on a date with her.

Several minutes after Mai and Akane began taking orders again, Natsuki entered the restaurant carrying a pair of golden yellow shirt-and-pants sets. She scanned the area for Mai, and noticed that she was busy assisting an elderly man to his seat. Akane saw Natsuki walk in, and immediately walked over to the front door to greet her.

"Hi there, Kuga-san," she said, putting on her best smile. "May I get you anything?"

"No, thanks," said Natsuki. "I'm kinda in a hurry. I have to check in at the hotel in a half-hour to secure a room for the Golden Week Festival."

"So you're working the Festival, huh? That's awesome! But...why book a hotel room? Couldn't you spend a night or two at the shrine?"

"Not yet. The headmaster tells me that there are still a few things that need to be fixed up before it starts on Monday, so they're not letting anyone else in right now."

"That's too bad. You could save yourself a lot of money that way."

Kazuya looked at the clock nearby and signaled Mai over to him just as another waiter made his way in for the last shift of the day. "I guess this is it for you for the night, huh?"

"Yeah," said Mai, retreating to the ladies' room to change out of her apron. "Is Natsuki here already?"

"She came in a few minutes ago, actually."

"All right. Tell her I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Natsuki purchased a newspaper from the vending machine next to her, looking for local stories of interest while she waited for Mai at the front door. Mai grabbed her coat and punched out for the evening, saying goodbye to Kazuya, Akane and a few others before she met up with Natsuki.

"Hey there," she said. "Glad to see you."

"Are you ready to go?"

"Just about. Say, what's with those clothes in your hand?"

Natsuki folded the uniforms up and carried them in front of her. "This is what we'll be wearing for the festival next week," she said. "Shizuru helped select the design."

"They look okay, I guess...but I can't really get a good look at them from right here."

"You'll get a chance to try them on at the hotel room. Come on, let's go. They're waiting for us."

* * *

After stopping for a moment to look at directions, Mai and Natsuki took a ride toward the Little Prince Hotel, a tourist stop approximately three blocks away from the Fuuka Shrine. The building was in reasonably good condition, and the doorman greeted the girls with a warm smile as they approached.

"Are we really going to be staying here for the week?" asked Mai.

"Well, it's not exactly the Hyatt," Natsuki muttered, "but it'll have to do."

They entered the building separately, and walked up to the reception desk to collect their room key.

"Hello, there," said the receptionist. "Kuga-san, was it? You and Tokiha-san be staying in room 107. Just take a left after following the door behind me, and your room will be the fourth one on the right."

"Thank you," said Mai. "Um, how much is this going to cost us?"

"You don't have to worry about that," the receptionist replied, looking at Mai from his desk as she reached for her wallet. "Your school has already covered accommodations for you and several others. They've already checked in. I'm sure they'd be happy to see you."

One of the bellhops offered to take the girls' bags to their room for them, but since Natsuki was only able to carry their uniforms with her on the motorcycle, and Mai only had her purse, they let the bellhop go, but gave him a 2,000-yen tip for his hospitality.

When the two of them went to their room, they were greeted by Reito, who had traded his usual all-black uniform for a gold one with a Fuuka Academy pin in the corner.

"That looks really good on you, Reito," said Mai. "I'm not used to seeing you in those colors."

"Thank you, Mai," Reito said with a grin. "I'm glad you like it. Before you go out for the ceremony on Monday, I'd like you to try out the ones that we gave you, and tell me what you think."

"Don't worry...we will." Mai peeked into Reito's room and saw that only his bags were on the floor. "Where's Tate-kun? Isn't he staying with you?"

"Yeah," said Reito, "but he's still in the dining room finishing his meal. I just finished mine a little while ago, so I'm going to sit down and enjoy a book while I wait for him. Are you ladies going to get anything to eat?"

Natsuki shook her head. "I might get something later, but right now, I just want to put our stuff away so that I can relax."

"I understand. If either of you needs anything, just knock on my door, and I'll see what I can do."

Reito returned to his room, while Mai and Natsuki opened the door to their room with the key given to them by the receptionist. Once inside, Mai looked around in the room and giggled when she saw the big screen TV sitting across from her new bed, which was twice as big as the one she had grown accustomed to at Fuuka Academy. "Wow, Mashiro-sama really went all-out when she picked this place," she said happily. "I could really get used to this."

"Don't get too attached to it," said Natsuki. "We're only staying here for a week."

"One week of luxury sure beats the heck out of who-knows-how-many months of fighting monsters, don't you think?"

Natsuki took off her jacket and hung it in the closet, along with their special Golden Week uniforms. She contemplated trying one on, but she saw that Mai had already made herself comfortable on the bed, tuned into a local high school baseball game.

"Why don't you come and lay down here for a while? This mattress is so soft and fluffy...I'm sure resting on it will help you take your mind off things."

There was a hint of seductiveness in Mai's voice, which only unnerved Natsuki more. "Mai!" she said.

"Huh? You thought I wanted to do _that?_ No...no, no. I mean, sure, I've admitted that I'm in love with you, but I'm just as new to this relationship thing as you are. I don't want to jump too far into this unless you're ready, too. Sorry if that came out the wrong way."

"It's all right, Mai. Just give me a moment, and I'll be right there."

Natsuki took a deep breath, and then took off her shoes and sat down on the bed, slowly drawing herself closer to Mai and wrapping her arm around her.

"There you go," said Mai. "Like you said, we're going to be out here for a whole week, so let's enjoy what we have here until it's time for us to go back."

Natsuki nodded, and rested her head on Mai's shoulder as they watched the end of the game together, cheering as one of the local kids hit a triple to win the game for his team. After the game ended, Mai went to the bathroom and washed up before changing into her evening clothes. Natsuki had fallen asleep a little while after Mai had turned off the television, so Mai hopped back into bed and covered herself up with the small portion of the blanket not taken up by Natsuki, leaving one hand free to give her a hug.

"Good night," she whispered, giving Natsuki a small kiss on the cheek before going to sleep herself.


	28. Just for Us

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes: Breather day two of four. Ironically, the last four days of this (fictional) month are shaping up to end almost in the same manner that the first four chapters began...minimal fighting (if any at all), and the cast members generally getting along with each other._

_Mai-HiME is a Sunrise production, created out of Japan, and then distributed by Bandai Entertainment in the U.S. (and probably some other countries, too, but I don't know which ones)._

* * *

**Day 28 - Just For Us**  
Theme #8: Our Own World

It took longer than usual for Mai to get out of bed the next morning. She had grown accustomed to her hotel room with relative ease, and slept soundly with Natsuki next to her. The only thing missing from their room was a clock, so the two girls were without an alarm to tell them when to wake up. The first thing they heard in the morning was a loud knock on the door.

"Kuga! Tokiha! Wake up!"

Mai removed her arm from Natsuki's hip and slowly rolled out of bed. "Haruka?"

Haruka knocked on the door again, though not quite as hard. "Come on, you two," she said. "Breakfast is ready in the dining room. You'd better hurry up, or you'll miss out."

Mai got out of bed and put on her shoes, running into the bathroom to quickly clean herself up. By the tone of Haruka's voice, Mai figured that she would barely have enough time to shower and change into her festival clothes, so she decided to put it off until she returned. Natsuki lumbered toward the front door of their room, her eyes still heavy with sleep.

"Could you give us a few more minutes to put our clothes on?" she asked, opening the door slightly.

"Why didn't you do that an hour ago? All of the officers were up and ready at around seven-thirty. It couldn't have taken you girls this long to get up...unless..."

Haruka's mind wandered into places she rarely dared to tread. _Surely those two couldn't be doing "this or that" on the day before the festival?_, she thought. _I don't care so much about the kissing, but the thought of explicit activities between guests of the student council is a distraction this school just does not need!_

"All right, all right...we're coming," said Natsuki, too sleepy to glare back at Haruka.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do."

After shutting the door to give herself some privacy, Natsuki went to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face to awaken herself more quickly. Mai waited patiently for her to finish cleaning up so that they could head to the dining room together.

"What's wrong, Natsuki?" she asked. "Were you unable to sleep well last night?"

Natsuki paused for a second to vigorously shake the cobwebs out of her head, but stopped when she felt a headache coming on. "It's nothing," she said. "Ready to go?"

Mai held lightly onto Natsuki's hand and led her out of the bedroom. "Yeah. I wonder what kinds of food they serve in this place?"

"It doesn't matter to me. As long as I can get something into my stomach, I'll be happy."

The dining room was well-populated, with only a handful of empty tables available. Several families were enjoying their pancake and egg breakfasts, not paying attention to the two girls that just arrived. The only familiar faces they were able to find among the crowd were Reito and Yukino sitting in a table close to one of the corner television sets.

"Good morning, Mai-san, Natsuki-san," said Yukino. "I'm glad to see you two this morning."

"You ladies came just in time," said Reito. "The food here is delicious, and we'd hate to see either of you miss out on it."

"Thanks, you guys." Mai and Natsuki sat next to each other in the free chairs opposite Reito and Yukino, polishing their knives and forks in anticipation of their meals. "Say...where's Haruka? She woke us up a little while ago, but I don't see her anywhere."

"Haruka? I believe she and Shizuru were called out to meet with a news crew."

"Why?" asked Natsuki. "Did something happen?"

"No...it's just a publicity interview. The network wants to get a glimpse of what we'll be doing for the festival."

A waitress came by to pick up Reito's empty plate. She noticed Mai and Natsuki and asked them if they wanted any food. They both nodded, and the waitress left for the kitchen to retrieve it.

"Yeah, about that," said Mai. "What exactly do you guys do during this holiday, anyway?"

_Oh, that's right,_ Natsuki thought. _You're still new to Fuuka. This is going to be your first festival here, isn't it?_

Yukino looked up at Mai as she took the last bite from her pancake. "Well," she began, "the Fuuka Shrine is opened to the public on Greenery Day. We set up food and game booths to allow people to relax and enjoy themselves. Sometimes, they'll take a walk under the trees and request to have their pictures taken."

"That sounds pretty romantic," said Mai.

"The festival's intended to be more of a family outing, but it's not uncommon to see couples walking out late at night under the lights."

Natsuki glanced at Mai for a brief moment, thinking she had an idea of the girl's side plans for the holiday. While she thought about Mai's motive, the waitress returned with a small stack of pancakes for each of them. Mai immediately dug into her stack with her knife and fork at the ready, while Natsuki added a little bit of syrup to hers before she began eating.

"Hey, you're right, Kanzaki," said Natsuki. "This is pretty good. If they actually made food like this at the cafeteria, I might be encouraged to eat there more often."

"I figured you'd like it," said Reito. "This hotel has a pretty good reputation for their hospitality. And to think...this hotel and the Fuuka Shrine will be part of our own little world for a whole week."

"Do you think you could make something like this for breakfast one day?" she asked Mai.

"I don't know," Mai said between bites. "I've never actually made pancakes before, but for you and Mikoto, I'll give it a shot."

Yukino, having finished her meal, got up from her chair and prepared to head back toward her room. "So, have you decided on what you're going to do today?"

"I haven't heard anything from Shizuru yet," said Natsuki, "so I figured I'd just relax for the time being, and maybe watch a game or two later. This is probably the only time of year I'll get some peace and quiet, anyway."

"Me, too," said Mai. "I wanted to actually go to the shrine before the festival started, but it looks like they've got it closed off until everything's all set up."

"The weather's supposed to hold up nicely around here for the next few days, so I may take a walk around town," said Reito.

"That sounds like a good idea," said Yukino. "Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't come with you. I need to find out what Haruka and Shizuru are up to. They may still need my help."

"All right, then. Have a good day, everyone."

Reito abandoned his seat, wishing the three girls a good day as he left the hotel to start his walk. Mai and Natsuki sat at the table and finished their breakfasts peacefully, watching the morning news as they ate. When they finished, they returned to their hotel room and changed out of their school clothes to allow themselves to fit in with their other classmates.

"It's a little tight," Natsuki said after putting on her pants, "but it'll do."

"I think it looks good on you, anyway," said Mai as she examined Natsuki in her new outfit. "You're not really thinking of staying inside all day, are you?"

"Of course not. I'll probably take Kanzaki's idea and go for a walk around town while the maids clean up." She placed one hand on Mai's shoulder and spun her around, using a small burst of energy from the breakfast that she had eaten. "And _you_ are going to come with me. I know of a good spot we can visit...just the two of us."

Again, Mai was surprised at seeing Natsuki in her current state, but she had no objection to her plan. "Sounds good to me," she said. "Do you think we'll bump into Haruka again on our way over there?"

"It's possible. I just hope she's still in a good mood when we do."


	29. Having a Ball

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes: Breather chapter 3 of 4. Ah, how fun this story's been to write so far. My only regret in making this is that I didn't take enough time to include some of the other side characters more frequently. Then again, there comes the problem of adding too many characters in a single chapter, and we all know that Mai and her friends won't meet up with _everyone_ in a single day, so a compromise had to be made._

_This story (which is about to draw to a close) is based on characters from the _Mai-HiME_ anime series, and should not be interpreted as canon in any sense._

* * *

**Day 29 - Having a Ball**  
Theme #16: invincible; unrivaled

The next day after Mai and Natsuki had settled in to their new room, the Fuuka Shrine was open to the public for the Golden Week holiday. Families from all over town came to visit the shrine to forget about their day-to-day problems and enjoy themselves under the fine weather. A handful of Fuuka Academy students had also decided to join in on the festivities, consuming mouthfuls of food and playing games until their wallets were emptied. To them, anything had to be better than school work, and to the HiME, the festival was a great opportunity to allow the girls to relax themselves, instead of constantly rushing to the school's aid and bailing it out of danger from Orphan attacks.

Mikoto came rushing over to the girls' booth with a handful of yen bills, anxious to get something to eat to keep her energy level high.

"Um, let's see," she said, pointing to various items on the menu. "I'd like this, and this, and one of those...hey! That looks good, too."

Natsuki looked at their stash of food and did a double take when she realized Mikoto had selected one of everything they had.

"Anything else?" asked Mai.

"Nope, that's everything," said Mikoto. "Thanks, Mai!"

Natsuki picked up a grab bag and placed all of the items inside, handing it to Mikoto in exchange for her money and trying to put on a smile for her. "Are you sure you'll be able to eat all that by yourself?" she asked, immediately wishing she could have withdrawn the question.

"Oh, this isn't all for me," Mikoto replied. "I'm paying for Takumi and Akira, too."

Takumi stepped out from behind Mikoto, carrying a souvenir folding fan in his right hand. "Hey, Sis," he said. "Enjoying the festival?"

"Well...I'm trying," said Mai, "but I haven't had a chance to take a break yet."

"After we finish eating, me, Akira and Mikoto here were going to check out one of the game booths. Do you want to join us?"

"I'd love to, actually. What about you, Natsuki?"

"I guess so," said Natsuki, "but if we both go, one of us has to stay back here. We can't leave this booth unattended."

"So you both want to go, huh?" asked Akira, producing a small coin from the pocket of her pants. "Looks like we'll have to flip for it. Whoever calls it and wins gets to go first."

Akira tossed the coin into the air. When it reached its apex, Mai called out "Tails!" The coin landed harmlessly into the grass on the "heads" side.

"Sorry, Sis," said Takumi.

Mai's moment of disappointment was brief, for she figured one member of Mikoto's party might come back with something decent. "It's all right," she said. "I'll drop by later."

Natsuki stepped out from behind the counter to meet with Mikoto and the others, eager to play. "Which way are you all going?" she asked.

"This one looks like it could be fun," said Mikoto, excitedly pointing to a booth with a net and a cutout of a baseball catcher. "Let's play that!" She grabbed onto Natsuki's arm and pulled her toward the game. Takumi and Akira walked calmly by as Natsuki was dragged along with Mikoto.

"Step right up, step right up! Three balls for 200 yen! Hit the strike zone and win a prize!"

Yuuichi greeted the quartet as they made their way to the booth, setting out a bucket of baseballs and trying to put on his best "happy" face.

"Care to give it a shot?" he asked.

Mikoto looked around at the assorted stuffed animals hanging next to the booth, unable to decide which one she wanted to win. She gave Yuuichi the last of her money and took a baseball from the bucket, hurling it at the cardboard catcher with all her might. The ball made a resounding _thud_ against the catcher's head.

"Whoops...too high," said Yuuichi.

Mikoto groaned, and threw a second ball, aiming a little lower, but still missing the mark.

"Almost had it that time."

A third ball sailed to the left of its target, leaving Mikoto to walk away from the booth dejected. "Aww, and I wanted to get something good for you guys," she said.

"Don't feel bad, Mikoto," said Takumi. "We're grateful for the food you got us, right, Akira?"

"Yeah," said Akira. She stepped up to the booth next and gave Yuuichi her payment. "Here...let me try this out."

Akira picked up three balls from the bucket and rapidly tossed them toward the catcher, shouting as each of the balls left her hand. The balls flew toward their target swiftly, but not a single one of them was able to pass through the hole.

"What are you doing?" asked Natsuki. "You won't be able to hit anything by throwing willy-nilly like that. Just relax and aim."

Akira shook her head and huffed. "I _was_ relaxed and aiming," she asserted. "That hole is just too small, that's all. I think this game is rigged."

Natsuki took a moment to glance back at Mai, who briefly looked up to wave to her after tending to a customer at her booth. She turned back to watch Takumi hit the target on his second try. Yuuichi applauded, and gave him a small yellow stuffed bear as a reward. Inspired, Natsuki took her place in the booth and picked up a ball. She had her eye on a stuffed golden retriever hanging directly above the catcher. _So...cute,_ she thought. Her first toss bounced off the rim of the hole in the catcher's mitt.

"Come on, Natsuki!" cheered Mikoto. "You can do it!"

A second toss hit the same area, but flew back toward Natsuki and nearly hit her in the head. "Whoa!" she cried. "What was that about? The catcher's not supposed to throw back."

Yuuichi shrugged his shoulders and handed her another ball. "I've never seen it bounce like that before," he said, "and certainly not that quickly. Give it another shot. You might get lucky with this last ball."

Natsuki took up her stance once again, focusing intensely on the target, determined to make that stuffed dog hers. She wound up and tossed the ball forward again, just barely missing the target by a few centimeters.

"That sucks," said Natsuki. "I almost had it that time."

"Well, um...at least you tried," said Yuuichi. "Are you sure you don't want to play another game?"

"No, thanks. I'm trying to save my money for the rest of the week."

Natsuki walked back to the concession booth alone, ready to get back to work. "It's your turn," she said to Mai.

"Couldn't win anything, huh?" asked Mai.

Natsuki shook her head.

"Don't worry. You just wait here and help out the customers. I'll see if I can win something good."

Mai stepped out from behind the booth and raced over to the pitching game with Mikoto and the others, who were surprised to see her come out.

"You're here to play this game, too?" asked Mikoto. "Cool! I'm rooting for you, Mai!"

"Watch yourself," said Akira. "This game isn't as easy as it looks. Takumi managed to win something, but the rest of us weren't as lucky." She took a few sticks of cotton candy and passed them around to everyone. _At least the food here's good,_ she thought.

"Hmm...what's so difficult about tossing a ball into a hole?" asked Mai.

"You'd be surprised, Sis," said Takumi.

Mai stepped up to the booth and waved a pair of yen bills toward Yuuichi, who was relaxed in his chair and ready to sneak in a few moments of sleep. "Hey, Tate-kun!" she called, nearly throwing him out of his chair.

"Oh...uh, hi, Tokiha," he said, taking the money and stuffing it into his pocket. "Ready for a game?"

"You bet!"

"All right...here are the rules. You get three chances to hit the strike zone. If you win, you get your choice of any of these prizes here. Sound good to you?"

"I can do that. Just watch."

Mai took aim at the cardboard catcher, but her throw bounced off its mitt. Her second throw didn't get any closer, sailing just to the left of the catcher's head. Frustrated, Mai decided to employ a different tactic and toss her last ball using a swift softball pitch. With slightly better control of the ball in this stance, she was able to hit her target. Mikoto and the others applauded heartily.

"You did it, Mai!" she said, grabbing hold of Mai while trying not to drop her cotton candy stick. "You won!"

"Great job," said Yuuichi. "I didn't expect you to try that move, but...I guessed it worked for you. So, which one of these fellas do you want?"

Mai examined the handful of prizes dangling form the ceiling of the booth, and stopped and pointed at the same golden retriever Natsuki had her eyes on earlier. "I want that one," she said.

Yuuichi reached for the dog and handed it to Mai, petting its synthetic fur a few times before giving it away. "That is a cute little thing. Take good care of it, okay?"

"I will. Thanks, you guys."

Akira looked down at her watch and signaled to notify Takumi that it was time for them to leave. Mai sat her new toy down next to her so that she could hug her brother and each of their friends before separating for the night. With the dog tucked under her arm, Mai went back to the concession booth to relay the good news to Natsuki.

"Hey!" said Natsuki, her eyes locked on Mai's dog. "That's the same one that I was playing for. How did you win that nearly impossible game?"

"Let's just say I had to take some...'underhanded' measures to win this one," said Mai. "Here. I want you to have this."

She handed the dog to Natsuki, who took it right away and held it to her bosom, giving it a kiss on the nose. The dog stared vacantly back at its new owner, and while it was unable to speak, the expression on Natsuki's face and her instant infatuation with the toy said more than enough.

"You're really giving this to me? Thank you so much, Mai!"

"You're welcome," said Mai. "After all you've done for me in the last few days, I figured I'd repay you with something good. I'm glad you like it."

When it became time for them to close up their booth for the evening, Mai made a quick phone call to Takumi to see whether he and the others had made it back home safely, and wondered what he planned to do with his teddy bear. Natsuki sat and played with her dog, deliberating on what sort of name she would give it, and how she would shower it and her girlfriend with kisses when they got back to their hotel room. They were both perfectly happy with that idea.


	30. Isn't It Wonderful?

_Disclaimer and Author's Note: Finito! That's the last of the chapters, everyone. This particular story may have concluded, but I tried to go for an hopeful open-ended ending for everyone involved. Only one month has spanned in this story, but there will surely be more for Mai and Natsuki to do in the future.  
_

_This collection of fics was brought to you by WillyFourEyes, but the characters and setting used within are all the property of Sunrise. Hope you enjoyed it!_

* * *

**Day 30 - Isn't It Wonderful?**  
Theme #30: kiss

The second day of the festival was a little more low-key than the first, since it wasn't an officially-named holiday. Traffic was lighter, but the mood was as festive as it was the previous day. Natsuki and Mai worked through their shift at the concession stand until the sun began to set. They decided to stay behind for a little while along with Haruka and Shizuru to assist with clean-up. The girls' faces lit up with joy all around. Even the normally super-serious Haruka managed to crack a smile, tacitly admitting that she was having a good time, since the people she was watching were behaving themselves for once.

"Hello there, ladies," said Shizuru. "Are you having a good time so far?"

Mai and Natsuki nodded.

"Tate-kun told me you put on quite a show at the pitching game last night. Did you win anything?"

Shizuru whipped out a small folding fan, blowing cool air toward each of her friends. She then fanned away at herself when a fly landed near her uniform.

"Well, we tried," said Natsuki, "but that stupid catcher's hole looked too small for those baseballs to fit. Mai managed to find a way somehow."

"I see. Congratulations to you, Mai-han. Which prize did you pick out?"

"Um, it was this little golden retriever," said Mai. She didn't actually have the stuffed dog with her, but she pretended to pet it as if it was sitting in her lap. "It was so cute-looking, too."

"Will you let me see it one day? Perhaps tonight, when we return to the hotel?"

"Sure. We've kept it there for everyone to look at. Just remember to be gentle with it."

Shizuru held onto both Mai and Natsuki's hands, rubbing each one softly with her thumb. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that with me," she said, giggling playfully. "I know that a woman's touch should always be delicate."

Haruka walked up to Shizuru and whispered something into her ear, completely inaudible to either Mai or Natsuki. Shizuru released her grip and bowed toward both ladies. "Sorry about that," she said. "I guess I got a little ahead of myself there."

"It's no problem, really," said Natsuki.

"Anyway," said Haruka, "Yukino's almost done setting up the fireworks display. Are you going to stick around and watch it with the rest of us?"

"We probably will. How much time do we have before it starts?"

"From my watch, only half an hour. If you need to go back and get something, do it now, or you'll miss out."

Natsuki prepared to return to her motorcycle with Mai, but she was interrupted when Shizuru grabbed her hand again. "Natsuki! Wait!"

"What is it?"

"Before you go..." Shizuru's voice wavered a bit, but she took a deep breath in order to quickly regain her composure. "I wanted to thank you both for all the work you've done for us so far."

_Why is she springing this on us now?_, thought Mai. _Could this be part of the surprise Tate-kun was talking about? Or maybe it was the fireworks. I don't know. Natsuki wants to go back to the hotel for something, but I think we should at least give Shizuru the courtesy to tell us what the heck's going on._

"After all," Shizuru went on, "it's partially because of your work fighting against the Orphans that we're able to enjoy a night out like this without worry. I know you have your own reasons for doing so, but regardless, everyone at Fuuka Academy is grateful for your help."

This time, Shizuru reached around to give Natsuki and Mai a group hug, which they returned in kind.

"Thank you, Shizuru," said Natsuki, "though we owe you some credit for helping us the day the power went out during that lightning storm."

While she was locked in her embrace, Shizuru had failed to notice that Haruka had already walked down the hill toward the fireworks display.

"Shizuru!" she called. Her cry was loud enough to reach Shizuru as if she were standing right next to her. "Get down here!"

"Coming!"

Natsuki went into one of the nearby bathrooms and changed into her motorcycle gear, and then led Mai to her bike, parked a few blocks away from their stand. She drove back to the hotel and raced to the room, grabbing her stuffed dog from the side of their bed.

"You came all the way back to the hotel room just for that?" asked Mai.

"No," said Natsuki, "but I couldn't very well leave it alone while we were out watching the fireworks."

Mai opened up the miniature refrigerator under the television and pulled out a pair of water bottles. She drank from one, and sat the other next to Natsuki and her dog.

"I know you've wanted to keep quiet about this for a while," she said as she sat down on the bed next to her partner, "but I have to ask you...do you still think about that night in the locker room?"

Natsuki put down the dog and briefly stopped combing its hair. "Yes," she said. "There are times when I still think about what happened. I'll admit it...when I saw the look on your face after I kissed you, I was afraid."

"Because you thought I was going to hit you back or something?"

"No, that's not it. When I was young, my mother used to tell me that you were supposed to save a kiss for someone you loved. I'm used to doing my own thing, and I'm not even the kind of girl to want to get tied down in something silly as romance, but there I was, seemingly throwing away a chance to change all that with someone I'd just barely known."

"Yeah. I was still surprised to see you do that out of the blue."

"But then, after that day, we started to hang out a bit more and actually get to do things together. I became fond of having you around, even though there are still some things you do that irritate me a bit. That was when I thought, 'Hey...maybe this isn't so bad after all.'"

"I used to think the same thing," said Mai, relaxing herself and leaning her head on Natsuki's shoulder. "I never thought my first time would go the way it did, either. It feels kinda nice, don't you think?"

Natsuki nodded. She lifted Mai's head up when it looked as if she was going to fall asleep. "Hey!" she said, hoisting her friend upright. "Don't fall asleep on me now. We still have to get back to the shrine in time to see the fireworks. Besides, I want you to be awake so that you can fully hear what I'm about to say."

"Why? What else do you have to tell me?"

Mai's head was firmly locked in Natsuki's hands. She wanted to fall asleep again, but she couldn't avoid staring at Natsuki. For the first time in weeks, her eyes lit up with a noticeable glimmer of joy.

"Mai...I don't know how much longer this relationship of ours will go on," said Natsuki, "but the fact that we made it through this month together makes me want to keep trying. For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

After a few moments of silence, Natsuki and Mai kissed each other, holding each other as closely as possible and alternately pecking at each other's cheeks and necks. Initially, they both started to lean back onto the bed, but since they were pressed for time, Mai pulled Natsuki off the bed, allowing them to continue to make out while standing up – something they agreed was much more stimulating.

"I promise I won't forget this," said Mai. "Moments like these are too good to give up."

"You're right." Natsuki let go of Mai to check the time on her cell phone. "We should probably head out soon, though. Shizuru and the others are expecting us to return. Grab the dog and let's get going."

The two girls hastily brushed their hair and headed back to the motorcycle with Natsuki's dog placed safely inside one of their bags. When they returned, they saw Shizuru and Haruka staring into the sky and pointing at the stars.

"Natsuki! Mai-han! You're just in time," said Shizuru. "The show's just getting started."

"What took you girls so long?" asked Haruka.

"I think I have an idea," Shizuru said with a wink. "I just wish I'd been there to play along."

At that moment, Natsuki's and Mai's faces turned bright red. They were embarrassed to think that Shizuru somehow knew about the two of them sneaking back to the room for a quick makeout session, but calmed down when they saw her looking at the dog's head sticking out of Mai's backpack. "This little fella...is that the one?"

"Oh, right...the dog," said Mai. "Is it okay if I let her hold this, Natsuki?"

"Sure," said Natsuki. "I don't mind."

Mai handed the toy dog to Shizuru, who immediately started petting and rubbing the dog as if it were real. "Thank you," said Shizuru. "You're so sweet."

"The stars sure are wonderful tonight," said Haruka. "I can't believe how well we managed to pull this off."

"Indeed they are." Shizuru smiled happily. "We should try holding a festival like this for the school's big anniversary. What do you think?"

The other three girls nodded in agreement.

Mai and Natsuki turned to the sky and joined the captive crowd in watching the multitude of exploding colors. To them, the sky never looked so beautiful, even on the sunniest of days or the clearest of nights. They were anxious to kiss again, but refrained from doing so, knowing that there would be plenty of opportunities in the future...but there was still a lot of work for them to do in order to take advantage of them. Instead, Mai and Natsuki leaned onto each other, whispering vows to stand by each other and protect their friends so that they all could continue to enjoy such peaceful nights. Seeing the smiles on everyone's faces made them happy, as well.

_This,_ thought Mai, _is definitely something worth fighting for._


End file.
